


In the Lap of the Gods

by LaReineDuLune



Series: In The Lap of the Gods [1]
Category: Spartacus Series (TV), Spartacus: War of the Damned, The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Angst, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Crossover, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Nagron, Romance, Violence, kaysanova
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:00:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27881158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaReineDuLune/pseuds/LaReineDuLune
Summary: Lost for over two thousand years, Agron and Nasir awaken to a whole new world of strife and violence, having been gifted by the gods with the ability to heal from all wounds.Joe, Nicky and the others begin to dream of two men, a hulking beast who speaks an ancient Germanic tongue, and the slight but strong, darker man who holds his heart. Knowing the two are in great peril, they go in search of their new brothers.
Relationships: Agron/Nasir, Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Quynh | Noriko, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: In The Lap of the Gods [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136753
Comments: 253
Kudos: 337





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr and all its OTP loving glory has, in a magic surely wrought in the forges of the gods, convinced me to bring together two sets of warrior husbands in this fic.
> 
> Nagron fans, if you're new to Kaysanova, give this a watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRtJ1Dtzg1o
> 
> Kaysanova fans, if you're new to Nagron, give this a watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWYsTI7s2eo&list=LL&index=9
> 
> The title refers to the song by Queen (the original, not the revisited one most people know).

In the Lap of the Gods  
©2020 La Reine Du Lune

_I live my life for you_   
_Think all my thoughts_   
_With you and only you_   
_Anything you ask I do, for you_   
_I touch your lips with mine_   
_But in the end, I leave it to the lords_   
_Leave it in the lap of the Gods_   
_What more can I do?  
\- In the Lap of the Gods by Queen_

The dreams began in late Autumn. It was Nicky who experienced the first one, waking up shivering violently in Joe’s embrace before falling back asleep when he realized it had not been his reality. By morning each of them had felt the cold. There were two of them, men, one a great giant and another slight but strong. One was fair, the other darker. They saw only flashes of their faces and the unbearable sensation of ice permeating their flesh. There were two new immortals in the world. And though there was much trepidation among them, they’d not abandon their new brothers and began to seek them out. They had but a day before the dreams shifted again, ones that brought them familiar horrors of captivity, torture, unfettered fear and a face known well to all but Quyhn, that of Dr. Meta Kozak.

A month of fury and frustration passed where little was learned about their brothers, and no success in finding them, even with Booker, Nile and Copley’s best efforts combined. Nicky grew quiet and introspective, spending time in contemplation while Joe paced with worry. Both men had been at the end of Kozak’s indifference with her blade. Quyhn meditated and Andy stewed, often sat at the kitchen table of their safe house, manipulating a blade in her hand. Every now and again she’d allow it to nick her flesh only so she could watch the wound heal again and again with no explanation as to why her immorality had been restored to her. Was it the return of Quyhn into their lives? The union of the six of them as family? As ever it remained an eternally elusive mystery. The boon was however that in the fight to come to rescue their new ones, she’d show to no mercy and take every chance given.

It was in the dead of winter when Copley came to their door with an unmarked van full of weapons, equipment and a lead. They’d leave in the morning for a location on the outskirts of the ports in Hamburg, Germany. In the meantime, he had brought with him footage from inside Kozak’s operation, downloaded from an insufficiently protected cloud in a corner of the dark web. Copley apologized profusely for it having taken so long, but the security protocols had been significantly better than Merrick’s, though not impenetrable to one so determined as Copley.

Booked was quiet and could not watch, recalling his betrayal years ago and all that had happened to Joe and Nicky, but the other two men watched unflinching as Kozak conducted her initial experiments. The men endured just as Joe and Nicky had done, and died many times revive again and again.

Nicky’s hand slid over Joe’s as it rested on his thigh. “They are lovers,” he stated, turning to Joe, who chewed on the inside of his cheek to hold his emotions in check.

“How can you tell?” Nile asked and Nicky gave her a soft, indulgent look. She shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t think.”

“No need for apologies. If you do not know it is not because you are callous, it’s simply in their eyes – the longing, the suffering, the anguish at watching the other endure pain and being powerless to stop it. They are bonded as Joe and I are. They are intimate on every level.”

The footage progressed and in their quiet moments they spoke to each other as sleep eluded them. “That can’t be right,” Andy hedged, looking to Quyhn who furrowed her brow and listened closer as the two men spoke.

“What language is that?” Copley asked, “I don’t recognize it.”

“A dead one,” Andy sighed. “How can this be? It’s a proto-Germanic dialect, one that was used over two thousand years ago.

“They are older than our dreams led us to believe,” Quyhn supplied. “These are not new immortals. They are very old. They were frozen? We all felt the cold when they awoke. Perhaps they died but did not come back to life until weeks ago? We would not have dreamt of them until they had come back from their deaths.”

“Fuck…” Andy breathed out.

Distracted by their conversation, their attentions were all brought back to the screen before them as the smaller of the two men let out a squall of the purest agony before his life left him yet again. It was a breaking point for the other one and with a strength few in the world possessed, the straps that had securely held Joe and Nicky tore away under the might of the large man. Kozak, the coward that she was, fled from the room as he broke free. Standing at his full height, his figure was terrifying. He dwarfed them all and his shoulders were a width they scarcely thought could walk through the threshold of a door.

“Holy shit, he’s the size of a tank!” Nile exclaimed, watching as the man came to his full height and rolled his shoulders to prepare for a fight.

His freedom was short lived however and he never did make it across the expanse of the room to his lover before armed guards came storming through the door, subduing the giant with cattle prods, tranquilizers and finally a hail of bullets until he lay immobile on the ground. After that, the darker man was taken away.

“That is enough,” Joe spoke and looked to his husband, seeing the fear reflected in his eyes. They had separated the men. They both knew that if Kozak had held on to them long enough, this would have been their fate.

Copley turned off the footage and closed his laptop. “This was time stamped four days ago. We’ll be in Hamburg this time tomorrow and we’ll strike the night after that, yes? I can run point from the safe house in Ebsjerg, Denmark and wait for you. You’ll have to go by water, and fast. It’s a 4 hour drive, longer by boat, but we haven’t means of getting across the border with two unpredictable strangers, do we? Not to mention weapons enough for a small army. Once we’re at the second location, we can take a couple of days and decide where to go from there.”

Andy nodded. “You’ve got the plans for they building?”

“Of course.”

“Good. We’ll get a strategy going. How’s everyone’s ancient Latin? I know the Germanic tongue but I can’t be in two places at once. Chances are they’ll speak at least some Latin. We’ll need to split into teams.”

“I studied my Latin back to before Christ came,” Nicky provided. “It is not perfect, but sufficient.”

“Good, you’ll go after the dark haired one with Nile. Quyhn, I’ll need you to help clear the building, and by that I mean kill every person you lay eyes on.”

“I understood, Andromache,” Quyhn spoke, a sly grin appearing across her face. The chance to dispatch anyone who’d unjustly hold another prisoner delighted her to no end.

“Booker, you’re going to rig the place to blow. I don’t want a trace of anything left behind. Not even a paper clip.”

“You got it, boss,” Booker nodded, already doing the calculations in his head for how much C-4 he’d need.

“Joe, you and I are going after the Gladiator.”

“The Gladiator?” Copley spoke as he looked to her with eyes wide.

“That brand on his forearm? The letter ‘B’? That is of the House of Batiatus, this man was owned by and fought in the arenas for Quintus Lentulus Batiatus. I may not remember his face or his name, but I’ve seen him fight. This motherfucker fought along side Spartacus.”

***

They supposed as far as secret laboratories crossed with a pseudo-military bases went, the warehouse, one among many along the river, was nothing spectacular on its surface - it kept their operation concealed. Copley’s intel proved reliable, as it always had over the years. They were sharp minded as night fell, despite being haunted by dreams of the large man screaming and weeping for his love only to be tranquilized into oblivion. His love prayed to the gods for salvation, and spoke the name of _Agron_ in hopeful reverence, over and over and over. Throughout the day Joe and Nicky had been particularly close with each other, more so than any had ever seen them. The spoke in hushed tones and their physical contact was constant. All knew they must see themselves in the other two, the shared experience of torture at the hands of a singular madwoman, but also of love born of battle, and making their way in the world as two men in love.

They wanted to free Agron and his lover for themselves as much as for the two captives. There was much cruelty and injustice in the world and they could never hope to save everyone, but they could save their new brothers.

Copley had secured a small but swift vessel for them, moored a half mile away in a disused dock, it’s exterior conditioned to look old as if to make the boat appear untrustworthy, but it was sure and would take them away into the dead of night and few could catch it. They checked its security and stored their supplies below desk before Copley took the vehicle and began his own journey to Denmark. A few hours after the sun set, they suited up and armed themselves. The mission was first and foremost to free Agron and his lover, but each of them felt a personal vendetta against Dr. Kozak and anyone who threatened their family.

Andy secured her labrys to her back and gave a thought to the gods of old and for the first time in millennia asked they give their strength to the one called Agron, and luck to them all this night.

“We ready?” she asked.

“Ready, boss,” Joe spoke, emboldened by the feel of Nicky’s hand on the back of his neck. With a nod, they disappeared into the night. They emerged after stealth maneuvers to enter the gates without detection and scale to the top of the six stories upon the roof. From there, Booker set in motion the dismantling of the security system at intervals, allowing the system to remain in play, but go dark enough to allow each to get into their positions before they unleashed hell on those inside.

They dispersed with practiced ease, Andy and Joe, Nicky and Nile, and Booker and Quyhn on their own. The facility had become quiet as the night waned. Some of the staff had retired for the night. Copley had assured them that they had dormitories on the forth floor. It seemed all - scientists, staff and guards a like were living in the building, completely devoted to Dr. Kozak’s pursuit along with whoever was funding her continued research. That suited Andy just fine, less of a mess to clean up if they didn’t have to hunt anyone down afterwards. She was incredibly and completely done with people trying to hold her family captive. She didn’t know Agron or his man yet, but she had already taken them as her own.

Booker and Quyhn made their way to the ground level. His task was the easiest of the lot but the one that needed the most precision. Quyhn worked as silent as a spectre to rid the halls of anyone who might come upon him as he worked. He slotted explosives into structurally key areas and connected their detonators’ frequencies to a sole signal. The entire place would go up in one massive ball of fire. Once Quyhn was confident Booker could work unabated, she left him to follow Andy’s order from the bottom to the top. There was a certain curious thrill that went through her as she ascended from the basement to the first floor. They had designed the build so as such that one had to cross to its opposite side to progress to the next floor. It was impractical for escape, which she supposed was the purpose. For her purposes however, it afforded her the opportunity to visit each who had dared to harm her new brothers. Nicolò and Yusuf were very dear to her and though she did not yet know them, their new ones were _hers_ and anyone who would enslave and torture them as she had once been deserved no mercy.

Though Quyhn had not been born of Japan, she did favour its weaponry. Who had want of a gun when blades were far more elegant? Not to mention, silent and personal. Her mission was personal. She smiled and thought of the moment she would meet her new brothers and opened the door. It was important to make a good first impression. She would offer them the gift of revenge by her hand.

The top floor had gone silent for the night. There were working labs throughout, with techs silently churning away on data and samples taken from the two new immortals. Nicky and Joe gave each other a quick peck on the lips before they parted, keeping their eyes locked for a time after before Andy gave Joe a nudge. The one know as Agron was being kept at the opposite end of the floor from his partner. Along the way they took note of how everything was set up as a hospital would be with operating and exam rooms in addition to the laboratories. There was also cells, equipped with showers, toilets and cots. It was no better than a prison. Dr. Kozak was nowhere to be seen and Joe hoped she could be avoided entirely, but he knew it would not be possible.

“C’mon, he’s through that door,” Andy spoke in a hushed tone as they avoided being seen. There were two guards with rifles standing sentinel. She and Joe shared a look and moving as swiftly as a sudden wind, shooting each in the head with silenced guns and rushing up to catch the pair and their weapons before they hit the ground. Joe reached into his tactical vest and slipped out the pass card Booker had programmed to scramble the keypad and grant them access. Once the latch released, they pulled the guards into the room and eased them silently to the floor. Andy moved quick as a cobra to the exam table to which Agron was strapped down to. They’d virtually mummified him with bindings to keep him immobile. They’d certainly learned their lesson from his first attempt at escape. Her hand covered his mouth before he could speak at he looked up at her with wide eyed rage and terror combined.

“ _Hold tongue, Gladiator,”_ Andy spoke in his mother language. _“We have come to free you. I am Andromache, the last of the Scythians. Stealth is needed lest we risk losing all.”_

She removed her hand and then a knife from her belt and began cutting at his bonds. _“Where is Nasir?”_ Agron asked, the desperation in his voice anguish to Joe’s ears. Had Nile not saved them all, this would have been his fate, including separation from Nicky.

_“Be assuaged of fears, he will be with you soon. We number six, two go in search of him. We are as you, gifted by the gods for all wounds to heal. All will be revealed if you trust. I swear this on the life of Spartacus, Agron from the lands East of the Rhine, warrior under the House of Batiatus.”_

Agron looked at her in wonder and disbelief, his prayers to the gods answered in the form a woman whose eyes were full of fury and purpose. Had he not dreamed of her and the others in her company he would have been reticent to trust her, but she was a vision of the gods to him and in this instance he would give her his fidelity. Upon his freedom, Agron sprang from the bed and shook out his tired, disused muscles. “ _Give hand a weapon, a sword, and I will slay all who dare to stand to keep me from Nasir!”_

“Joe, spare the sword?” Andy asked with a nod of her head. Joe lowered his gun and sighed. “Joe.”

Joe gave the giant man clad in only a pair of hospital scrub bottoms a pointed look and unsheathed his scimitar, and reluctantly passed it to him. “Tell him if he loses it I’ll kill him. Nicky gave me this on our anniversary.”

Agron gripped the hilt and tested the blade’s balance in his hand. It was a beautiful weapon and though not to his style, it would suit. The wounds to his hands by crucifixion that he had suffered at the hands of the Romans had threatened to rob him of their use. Time, patience and Nasir’s loving attention had restored them. In this moment they felt strong than ever. He heartened and his face turned to stone.

“ _Take care of blade, gladiator, it was a gift from his husband,”_ Andy translated. Agron eyed Joe curiously, truly taking him in for the first time. He had seen flashes of this man in his dreams, often in coitus with another, one with pale blue-green eyes. He thought himself in good company with another man who lay with men as he did.

 _“He is Syrian? Of Nasir’s people? He is dark as mine is.”_ Agron asked.

Andy shook her head. _“He is Cathaginian. A cousin across much distance to the Syrians, but a cousin nonetheless.”_

“Less talk, more action, boss,” Joe cautioned, raising his own rifle. “We’re going to have company soon.”

 _“Ready to fight?”_ Andy asked of Agron.

It had been many years since he and Nasir had left the battlefield, but in this instance it was as if he was still fighting alongside Spartacus. Agron gripped the Carthaginian’s sword and snarled. In this moment he was none but Gladiator and his campaign was to destroy all who had laid to harm his Nasir.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“He’s drugged,” Nile noted as she eased the last of the IV lines from the young man’s vulnerable, inert form. She glanced and the labelling on the bags of fluid and the blood drained from her face. “Shit, Nicky, this is enough ketamine to drop an elephant.”

“Our bodies burn through it quickly. If they gave him any less he would wake and perhaps they needed him unconscious for whatever they had planned next. Joe and I were not afforded the luxury.”

“We got Merrick though. And, well, I yeeted myself with him out the window for you.”

“It was much appreciated, Nile, but we let Kozak live and it was the gravest of errors. Our mission is to get our new brothers to freedom, but if we do not kill the doctor this night, I will have to find her. She is perhaps the greatest threat to our safety and anonymity in this age.”

The man’s bonds had been released. Less had been needed than those of the great beast that was his love. It was evident that this was no kept man, no prized toy. This man was a warrior in his own right. The massive scar at his ribs that muddied his silken, darkened skin was vicious and thick. The wound would surely have exposed his ribs and been cauterized in order to save him. There were others about him, but none so severe. His body was all tightly compacted muscle and there was no fat upon him.

“We carrying him or what?”

Nicky shook his head. “Let him come back to consciousness, it won’t be long.”

As if one cue the man gasped for breath as his body lurched, his freed limbs flailing. “Agron!” were his first words, exclaimed in a sharp and sudden cry for his love.

Nicky moved into his line of vision. “ _We will take you to him with haste,”_ Nicky spoke, the old Latin foreign on his tongue but somehow flowing with ease. “ _Do you understand my words?”_ The man nodded. “ _Give me your name?”_

_“I am called Nasir. Where is Agron?”_

“ _He is with my husband and our bonded sister. My name is Nicky, and this is Nile, another chosen sister. We have come to free you, but we are not free yet. An army stands between us.”_

_“Then give me a sword and I will fight.”_

_“The sword I wield does not suit you, but I have knives.”_ Nicky unsheathed a large serrated bowie knife from his belt and pressed it into the man’s hands. “ _Feel no hesitation, no remorse as you strike them down. The brutes would see you cut into a thousand pieces to discover why it is we cannot die. There is no answer to be found, Nasir. I have lived one thousand years. There is no answer. All we may do is live, be free, and help free others from bondage and misery.”_

_“To Agron, then. All who stand in my path will be cut down by blade.”_

Nicky held up his gun to show Nasir. _“You know this weapon?”_

_“It unleashes the feeling of fire and blade with shaft-less point of arrow.”_

_“That is an apt description. No matter, know that you will return to life. Do not fear their weapons.”_

_“I fear nothing, save separation from my heart. Show me path to Agron and I’ll paint it in enemy blood.”_

Nasir leapt from the bed, his body free of the drugs and all wounds healed. He felt as strong as Jupiter himself.

_“Follow Nile, she will lead. I will guard our backs, you our flanks.”_

With a nod of ascent, Nicky turned to Nile and without words spoken, they stepped forward with the next phase of their escape.

***

“What we got, Joe?” Andy asked as her brother cracked the door.

“Scientists are clearing out, making for the stairwells. Those’ll be for Quyhn. Guards right and left, armed with the usual, about thirty of them, more coming. Quyhn bought us more time than I’d hoped for, we’re good to go.”

Andy translated for Agron and then posed a question. “ _Would you have stealth, or would you have blood?”_

_“As if question is needed! I will have blood, Scythian!”_

“Joe, cover us,” Andy instructed as she liberated her labrys from her back. “The big guy’s hungry.”

Joe smiled and cast one at Agron who returned it in kind. Standing back, Joe kicked out the doors and slid across the hallway to find cover at a pillar before turning and starting to shoot. Agron and Andy followed after instantly, their weapons at the ready. Upon seeing Agron at his full stature, muscles tense with the urge for release and a roar from his lungs, the guards visibly quaked. Not a second later the two ancient warriors ran heavy into the fray as Joe picked off shooters before they could do any significant damage. It was as if Agron did not feel the sting of the bullets as he advanced at full charge, driven by fury and righteous blood lust. He sliced the throats of three men at once in a clean arc before barrelling into another trio, stabbing one through his throat be before slicing the arm off another. The last one begged for his life before Agron pieced his heart. Barefooted, wading through rivers of blood, Agron would not be slowed in his slaughter.

Joe continued to pick off the ones that Agron was not focused upon while Andy followed in Agron’s wake, letting him have the glory as she finished off any who yet lived. In the end, Agron stood tall surrounded in a wreath of bodies and blood, panting heavily with his cold body warmed by the victory.

The sounds of gunfire had died around them but it could still be heard in nearby.

“Nasir!” Agron exclaimed and left the others in his wake as he followed after his love.

Joe and Andy shared a wide eyed looked. “Beautiful, isn’t he?” she asked. “I remember him vividly now, standing just like that in the arena in Capua, roaring like a lion.”

Joe’s admiration was more sober, but even he could not deny that in battle he’d never seen Agron’s match. “At this point Nicky would tell me that objectively I shouldn’t find this hot, but…”

“Remind me to text Copley to make sure the safe house stocked up on lube?” She winked at him, patted his arm and followed after Agron.

Joe stood there gaping for a second before grinning like a fool and following.

The next wave of guards met the same fate as the first and it was towards the end that Joe saw his Nicky fighting alongside Nasir with Nile taking guards out with her guns. The young man’s raven hair was wild, unkempt and stained with blood while his Nicolò followed suit, having cast aside using his gun in favour of his long sword. It seemed this battle was for the warriors of old and to strike true fear in those who’d never killed up close, never felt the hot rush of blood pour over their hands. Nile had never known and may never, but Agron did, Nasir did and by their own hands at the Gates of Jerusalam, Joe and Nicky knew it too.

When the last fell and all was quiet, what followed was the antithesis of the battle that had just been won. Upon seeing Nasir across the length of the hall, Agron let Joe’s sword slip from his fingers, the din of it hitting the floor echoing around them. Then to the surprise of everyone he let out a wounded, deep, choking sob as his face was overcome with emotion and his bottom lip trembled. He dissolved into tears and reached out as Nasir discarded his knife and ran to him. They collided and their arms went about each other, Agron crushing Nasir to him. He buried his face at his lover’s neck and broke utterly, sobbing with relief at having him back.

For his part Nasir sucked a deep bruise on Agron chest as he kissed his way to his mouth before taking his face in his hands and wiping the tears from his eyes with the pads of his thumbs. He kissed him so soundly all around them was forgotten.

Joe sighed, feeling a swell of emotion in his chest and picked up his sword, catching Nicky’s eye and walking toward him. They met stood beside the other couple, each wrapping an arm around the other’s neck. They kissed, sweet and slow. “Habibi?” Joe inquired, searching Nicky’s eyes for the answer to questions he hadn’t quite the words for.

“I am fine, my love,” Nicky replied with a smile. “Better now to see them reunited. But, we must make haste.”

Nudging Nasir, Nicky met Agron’s eyes and with a nod of in way of a greeting, offered him the hilt of his sword. “ _You are worthy of my sword until we see this to end,”_ he spoke in his eldest Latin.

Agron accepted its weight and held the blade aloft, satisfied with the feel of it in his hand. This was better matched with his size. Joe passed his own to Nasir, whose grip around the hilt was sure. Agron was reticent to remove his arm from Nasir’s waist, but Andy, ever their leader, broke the two couples out of their revelry.

“Me first, Joe and Nicky, you’re after me, Nile you watch our backs,” she commanded before switching to the Germanic her mind had become fully familiar with once more. “ _Agron, you and Nasir follow behind Joe and Nicky. Escape is at hand, but not yet won. Your command is to protect us if any attack come from the dark. Understood?”_

 _“Understood and accepted,”_ Nasir answered in the Germanic looking fearlessly into her eyes. He had long since assimilated Agron’s mother tongue. He reluctantly turned from Agron and sought the knife he’d discarded. He would battle with two blades. With a nod, Andy advanced and they fell into formation.

The next few floors were largely deserted. They moved on from scientists they found cowered together, knowing Booker’s explosives would see to their end. When an assailant did crop up, they were dispatched instantly. Floor by floor they descended until they reached the second. Upon opening the door they welcomed by a carnage rarely seen outside of an ancient battlefield. They marvelled at the once white walls of the facility were now painted red with blood. Bodies littered the floor and fell out of the doorways of each room. No living thing was left.

“ _What warrior wrought such savagery?”_ Agron asked, his mouth agape.

 _“My wife,”_ Andy replied. Agron arched his eyebrow in surprise and admiration.

“I love Quyhn, she’s my sister,” Joe mused, “But she’s really fucking scary sometimes, Andy.”

“C’mon, we’re not out of the woods yet, “ Andy encouraged and they walked through the slurry of the dead. Nicky fell back to offer comfort to Nile, who despite all her years with them was still not capable of true bloodlust as the others had all once been, and were still. Booker too was not accustomed to such deep inner darkness despite his struggles. Neither one of them would ever completely understand as they had not lived in such as time as when it was so plain and visceral. Even Joe and Nicky could not quite understand how Quyhn could kill with such glee, or Andy with such indifference. Nicky and Joe did so with purpose, but never because an inner God of War lusted for it.

They entered the main foyer of the first floor and stopped short at the sight of Quyhn perched upon a rise of concrete without a drop of blood upon her.

“ _Welcome, my new brothers,”_ she spoke in the Latin tongue, locking eyes with first Nasir and then Agron. “ _I have a gift for you.”_ Unnoticed at her side, but now presented to them, was Dr. Kozak. The woman was unharmed save for the ravages of fear that radiated off her. Agron huffed and snarled and Dr. Kozak quaked. She looked pleadingly at Nicky and Joe, who only stepped closer to each other, joining hands and not deigning to meet her eyes. All expected her to meet her end with Agron’s stroke, but instead it was Nasir her closed the distance between them and without preamble, sliced her throat with Joe’s sword and Quyhn let her fall to the ground.

Nasir turned to Joe and bowed slightly, offering him back his sword and Nicky his knife. He then walked to Agron and eased the sword from his hand, passing it back to its rightful owned. He took Agron’s hand his and beheld Quyhn.

“ _I offer gratitude,_ ” Agron spoke to her and the corner of her mouth turned up.

“ _And we offer you freedom, dear brother, now that we have taken revenge. This one that your man has killed once held Nicolò and Yusuf. Her death was earned long ago.”_ She turned to Nasir. _“Thank you, for seeing it done.”_

Quyhn turned on her heel and began to walk towards the exit. The biting cold of the winter of northern Germany was unbearable, especially to the two clad only in thin hospital scrubs, bare chested without shoes on their feet. Andy was sure she heard Agron growl “ _Jupiter’s cock!”_ under his breath. The snow on the ground saved their feet from damage other than frigidity as they ran in a line from the warehouse to where Booker awaited them on the boat.

Nasir recognized the man from his dreams from a distance and once again gave himself and Agron over trust born of freedom gained. The boat barely looked seaworthy and it wasn’t until they stood upon its deck that the two former slaves took in the strange land they found themselves in. The frigid, biting cold had them shivering as the others made their way below deck save for Andy, Booker. The four of them looking back at the stronghold that had held them.

“Here boss, let them do the honours,” Booker spoke, passing Andy the detonator.

“ _Hold fast to each other and see Tartarus raised to consume all,”_ Andy spoke as she guided their gaze back to towards the direction they’d come from. The boat began to pull awake from the dock, the hum of the motor a confusing distraction from Andy’s poise. She offered the detonator to Agron and instructed him to press the button. The explosion and ball of fire that consumed the building sent out a shock wave that nearly stopped their hearts. Agron dropped the detonator and grabbed for Nasir. The boat began to pick up speed, which also alarmed them significantly, but despite the new terror that had presented itself, neither man would tear their eyes away from the towering inferno left in their wake. The whole of Hamburg probably felt the blast and the fire could be seen around for miles.

“I think you went a bit overboard there, Book,” Andy admonished, feeling the heat of the flames even from now almost two miles away.

He shrugged. He turned to Agron and Nasir and grinned at them, pleased with his own welcoming of them to the family. “It felt warranted.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The pair were led below deck, where everything was a fresh onslaught. Agron’s height forced him to bend down. After all they had experienced in the laboratory it was no great shock to see artificial light, materials not made of wood or stone but it was still all strange and upsetting. Agron’s hands refused to leave Nasir’s body for anything. They were both indescribably cold, barefoot, dressed in meager clothing and covered in blood. Coupled with the fact that the boat moved rapidly through the water, it was enough to set Agron in particular on edge. Nasir took comfort in his love’s presence, but he too was coiled like a viper ready to strike.

Booker emerged from the sleeping quarters, big enough for only two to manage in the space at a time with only two bunks and the washroom. Huddled in the galley Booker passed them over with his eyes. “I set out the clothes Copley got for them, and boots. There’s towels and soap in the bathroom and a bin once they’re done cleaning up. Nile said she’d heat some mugs of beef broth for them to have with bread. They probably haven’t eaten properly since they were caught. I’ll be up front with Joe and Nicky. You got it from here?”

“Yeah Book,” Andy replied, "And thanks. Let Copley know we got them?”

“Will do. The explosion’s probably on CNN by now. Officials will say it was something like what happened in Beirut and cover up the deaths of a couple hundred people.”

“Same shady shit as always.”

“Yep… take care of them two, they look like they’re about to punch a hole through the bulkhead.” With that he departed and Andy turned to their new brothers.

“ _Nile will bring bread and broth. We’ll feast when we reach safe harbour. We have clothing for you and soap and water to wash. You may bathe when we meet journey’s end.”_ Andy moved past them pointing to the clothing and boots that they’d acquired for them, trusting they’d selected the correct sizes. She showed them how to use the taps, gave them soap, cloths and towels and left them to themselves. She exited the bunk room and closed its door behind her, giving them the privacy they’d been denied since awaking from the ice. She’d learn their story in time and was patient to hear it. They deserved nothing less than her support and respect.

It fell to Nasir to break Agron of his inertia. The man had watched Andromache depart, leaving them alone and found after that he could not move save to steady his balance as the boat somehow sped through the waters without sails. He was no fool or ignorant simpleton who could not understand that the world they found themselves in was not a result of magic. He understood that tools were tools even if he did not understand the machinations. A boat was a boat, even if it broke waves absent of wind. And, water flowed without well or pump, but it was still water.

Nasir circled his wrist with his hand and bade him to follow. The space was too small for Agron’s form, but Nasir pushed him into the latrine, Agron feeling as if he should kneel to fit in his enormous frame. Nasir pulled the blood stained cloth from his body, depositing it in the bin Andromache had motioned to. He did the same for himself and with cloth warmed with water, began to wipe the blood from Agron, rinsing and ringing the cloth when it became saturated.

“You have no voice?” he asked as he worked.

“I have no words to break,” was Agron’s sombre reply.

“You have thoughts enough. I know your face, I know your mind.”

“Then there is hardly need for words.” Agron obeyed when Nasir motioned for him to raise his arms. He remained otherwise silent.

“Agron…” Nasir paused and looked him in the eye, which he turned from and sighed.

“Half a decade? That was all the gods saw fit to spare us of battle and blood? No peace beyond five summers? Life built together at the foot of glorious mountain East of the Rhine. A home built with own hands, now gone. Our animals, gone. Our friends, gone. Do you not mourn?”

“At the onset the gods afforded us more than we hoped to gain, our lives to begin with. They were forfeit in the last battle with Crassus, and yet we lived where so many others fell.”

“I would have more than so meager a portion of life with you.” Nasir moved to his back and down his thighs, scrubbing where the blood had dried.

“Nicky told me he has lived ten centuries.”

“How is such a thing possible?”

“And yet, we fell into a chasm of ice and died in each other’s arms only to awake in another time, another world.”

“Only to be enslaved yet again.”

“And freed yet again.”

“To what?”

“I know not.”

“I loathe the absence of choice, again and again.”

“That is where your ire dwells? The lack of choice given?”

Agron nodded his head. “We were free men, Nasir, and now we are not.”

“You do not trust our liberators? Have we any choice but to trust Andromache?”

“I trust no one, save the one before me, my heart.” Nasir had finished and while a bath was still needed, Agron was cleaned of blood and battle. Nasir discarded the cloth with the remnants of their clothing. Agron took up a fresh one and saturated it with warm water before dragging it over Nasir’s skin to take his turn to wash his love. “We are helpless babes. We are ignorant to this new world. We know but of a fraction of its dangers.”

“True, but we have been offered friendship. I would not turn it away when we are most in need. Nicky said…”

Agron stopped his ministrations and scowled. “Nicky? What of _Nicky_?”

Nasir laughed heartily. “Cast foolish thoughts from mind, Agron. Always so jealous, my love? Nicky has been bonded to Joe for ten centuries and considers me only brother.” Still scowling, Agron grunted and resumed washing of Nasir. “You trust only me?”

“You only.”

“Then trust in my choice to remain with Andromache and learn all we may.”

Agron sighed and threw the cloth to the floor with the bloodied rags once he was done washing him. Nasir put his hair to the water and Agron ran his fingers through the strands to take away the blood, then dried them both. They emerged from the washing room to the bunks, finding the clothing that had been purchased for them.

“What strange robes are these?” Agron groused as he picked up a pair of jeans, eying them with scorn.

“Warm ones. Be not so combative.” Nasir picked up a garment he surmised was a substitution for subligaria and scowled. Agron gave a good, solid smack to Nasir’s ass and smiled. It was the first smile from his love Nasir has seen in a long time and he could not help but return it. Between the two of them the figured out how to dress, grateful the sizes were accurate. The coverings for their feet were simple and easy to pull on, made from a thick leather and comfortable though nothing like expected.

Agron sat on the edge of the lower bed, wrapped in heavy shirt of wool flexing his hands and cracking his knuckles. Nasir grew concerned and his brow furrowed. He took the left, the one that still held the most prominent scar from his crucifixion and began to massage the palm and its fingers as he had done each and every night since they’d left the battlefield behind and his scars had formed.

“Do hands give pain?” Nasir asked. “They always do with cold.”

Agron did not pull his hand away, all to eager and comforted by Nasir’s attention but he wouldn’t hide any truth from his beloved. “There is no pain, not any longer. There has been none since we awoke from the ice.”

Nasir’s smile split his face form each to ear, but Agron continued to frown. “I accept such news gladly. Your grip upon sword was as in early days.”

“I still bear the scars, but it would seem hands have finally healed.”

“I give gratitude for small mercy. Come, we have not been fed in an age. We must endure, Agron.”

“So long as you are by side, I can endure all.”

“Warm clothing and food are no hardship. Trust in instinct. I feel we are among kind, even if you do not.”

“I cannot trust that I do not know. My instinct is always that we are about to suffer siege. I defer to you, as I have in all things since leaving battlefield.”

“See that you do and couple words with action.”

Nasir took his hand and opened the door that stood as barrier and found Quyhn and Nile waiting for them, seated at the table with the others absent.

“Bathroom’s free,” Nile called out and a few moments later Nicky and Joe emerged from the bow, their faces wiped clean of the blood they’d bore but not of their ruined clothing. Nicky smiled at the sight of their new brothers standing in t-shirts, cable knit sweaters, jeans and Aussie Boots, faring far better than when they’d first gone in. Joe carried a satchel and spared them a quick but warm look as he took his husband’s offered hand and was led to the back to have their turn at cleaning up.

“ _Come, sit and break bread,_ ” Quyhn invited them with a gesture. “ _We will be at the Jutland before the peak of night before not for a length of time yet, so it is best to relax. We are safe.”_

 _“Jutland? Are we so far North? My mother’s people hailed from Jutland,”_ Agron responded. “ _It is good place, far from reach of Rome’s hand.”_

The pair sat down across from Quyhn and Nile gave them an encouraging, welcoming smile and pushed bowls of beef broth and chunks of bread at them to which Nasir gave gratitude.

Quyhn smiled, a sliver of a serpent in her gaze. “ _Brother, Rome as you knew it fell some fifteen centuries past. It cannot touch you. There are new threats, as you well know, but the past remains there. Take heart. Will it please you to know that Caesar’s fate was that he was betrayed by his senators and cut down by the knives of more than sixty men he thought loyal? His end was brutal and painful.”_

Agron felt a modicum of tension leave him and he picked up a piece of bread to dip in his soup before consuming it. “ _Tidings well received, gratitude.”_

_“Andromache and I were far away in those days, though she tells me she once sat in the arena in Capua and saw you with Spartacus. How the gods do play with us, for my love to have known of you 21 centuries before this day and to find you again.”_

_“21 centuries?”_ Nasir gasped. It had not hit him until that very moment how much time had potentially passed between their entrapment in the ice and their return to life. “ _It is inconceivable.”_

 _“Fuck the gods,”_ Agron growled. _“They do fuck with us!”_

“Ok, so I get that I’m totally chopped liver here,” Nile cut in. “But could I get a little translation here? Why’s the big guy freakin’?”

“Apologies, little sister,” Quyhn spoke. “They have just learned how much time has passed. I will remember to include you from now on.”

“Appreciate it. Ok, tell him that, I don’t know, that’ll we’ll take care of them. We’ll catch them up to speed, teach them English. Wow, how are we going to explain airplanes? Plastic? Vaccines? The internet? Damn…”

“We will teach them.” Quyhn translated Nile’s words to them in her own interpretation, stating merely that they would be guided in this new world. They smiled at Nile’s bright eyed admiration of them, but Agron’s dropped when the tiny gold cross that hung from Nile’s neck caught the light. His eyes darkened and his fists clenched. Noticing his love’s immediate tension, Nasir followed his gaze to Nile and too felt his stomach twist.

“ _She wears a symbol of Rome?”_ Agron grit out. His intense gaze upon her made Nile fearful for a moment only, before she straightened her back and met his eyes. She didn’t understand what she’d done to raise his hackles, but she wasn’t having any nonsense from him either.

“ _It is not a symbol of Rome, not any longer,”_ came Andy’s voice as she emerged from the bow, having left Booker alone to drive the boat. “ _Over time it came to symbolize all those who were sacrificed to Rome’s tyranny. The martyrs, the warriors, the innocent. There was one man, who was said to be the son of a god sent to show us the way of peace, who caught Rome’s attention and then its wrath. They thought his death upon the cross would end his message, but instead it grew and spread across all lands. His death ultimately lead to Rome’s downfall. She wears the crucifix for him. She wears it for you.”_

As Andy spoke, Quyhn translated the Germanic from Andy's lips as best she knew into Nile’s ear. It wasn’t a stretch for the youngest of their group to empathize why Agron had grown angry. How could he have known? He’d died before the one she gave her faith to had even been born. It was then that the realization came over Nile of why he'd been so upset. She saw the circular scars on his clenched fists. They were thick and rippled and the knowledge of their origin settled like a stone inside her.

Agron sighed wearily and hung his head in shame before it rose and he met Nile’s eyes with his own. “ _I offer apologies, and gratitude.”_

She didn’t need a translation to understand. His green eyes were so full of emotion. Where anger had lain just a minute before was now filled with sorrow and remorse. He reached across the table at her and offered his hand as Nasir’s settled on his shoulder. Nile met him halfway and they clasped each other over the forearms, his huge hand encompassing her almost completely. She smiled at him and he returned it softly, though still shy with guilt.

“Eat your soup,” Nile spoke. “Give me a month and I’ll have you rocking out to Beyoncé.”

***

“Next time I like a shirt, I’m buying five,” Joe groused, dropping the bloody garment on top of where Agron and Nasir had discarded theirs. “It was just starting to get cozy.”

Nicky stifled a laugh and placed a sympathetic hand on Joe’s shoulder, then leaned in a pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, “I lament its loss as well, it was very soft. Perhaps you should think better of wearing a favourite next time, hmm?”

Joe sighed and tipped his head to Nicky’s. “I’m glad we got them out, and that Kozak is dead. This might not be the end of this though. Who knows what corners Copley can’t see around, but I’ll breathe a little easier for a while. No more dreams of them being tortured.”

Nicky eased himself into his husband’s embrace and kissed him slow and sweet. “We have a long road ahead of us with them. They have missed so much. We must be patient.”

“But still, it’ll be good to have the team bolstered. They’re both fearless and highly skilled. They can be trained with modern weapons. Agron is ferocious! You didn’t see, but the guards were so scared of him they almost forgot they could shoot at him.”

“Perhaps they could be trained, or they will choose not to fight at all. They may wish to find a quiet corner in this world and retire alone together to a life of peace for a few centuries. We do not yet know their tale, but they have endured a hard life. Nasir in particular.”

Joe turned to look at Nicky, a perplexed look on his face. “How so?”

Nicky sat himself down on one of the bunks and bade Joe to take the place next to him. Shoulder to shoulder, Nicky continued. “Agron bears a brand belonging to the House of his _owner_. It was burned into his skin and he will bear that scar for thousands of years. If you had not noticed, his back is scarred from the whip. His body bears other ruinations by the blade. And his hands…”

Joe nodded. “It’s impossible not to notice. He was once crucified.”

“And survived, a miracle unto itself. He was a gladiator and fought to the death countless times. Nasir however, I suspect experienced a much different set of circumstances. Body Slaves were rarely branded, but he had piercing through his left ear at one point. He does not have one in his right. They were usually take very young, mere children, and do I need continue?”

Joe shook his head, feeling a sudden and terrible weight on his shoulders. He had been so eager and jubilant at them having two new brothers, that he had not considered their needs or wants. Nicky was of course ever wise in all matters.

“Take heart, my love,” Nicky continued. “If I were to spin tales I imagine their fall into love was clandestine and romantic, each experiencing freedom in the other’s embrace. They found each other.”

“Just as we did, through much strife and violence. Forgive me.”

“Always. I share your enthusiasm, but they have been slaves and I would not have them obey us, or aspire to anything but what their hearts desire. We’re not conscripting them to our army, but inviting them into our family.”

“You are right. That _is_ how we must treat them. As family. Agron may not see it in himself, but he has the soul of a poet. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at Nasir.”

“I don’t think you’ll be getting many fine words of him, my Joe, but you are right. Nasir shines like the sun when he beholds him. They have a love like ours, _amore mio_.”

“They will endure and grow stronger together. We have much we can teach them. You are a wise and beautiful soul Nicolò.”

“As are you, my love. Come, let us rejoin them. Once we have settled we begin again. They will have to learn the common tongues of today.”

“It could be years before they can survive on their own.”

“Good thing we have time to spare.”

“Our lives change course yet again. But not so much as theirs has. We will not let him suffer again. We’ll educated them, provide for them, and let them be their own men.”

“Your conviction and kindness inspire me as always, Yusuf.”

“It pales in comparison to yours.”

Nicky smiled and leaned into Joe’s side. “Today was a good day.”

Joe’s arm wrapped around his husband’s shoulders and he kissed his temple. “It was.”


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The last leg of their journey was spent in silence. Nile kept Booker company in the bow as he steered them towards their destination in Denmark. Andy and Quyhn went up on deck, seemingly impervious the cold despite it being well below zero with high winds. Joe sat in a quiet corner and sketched and Nicky remained at the table with Agron and Nasir, giving them a brief and convoluted history of the past two thousand years of civilization. The pair listened but were clearly exhausted and Nicky knew they were only half listening to him prattle on. He didn’t mind. He was aware they were not in a particularly good place in any sense and he hoped at least his voice and assurances offered comfort. Agron and Nasir’s hunger had barely been sated by the soup and bread, and Nasir recounted how they had often days without food or water, for whatever capricious reasons Dr. Kozak held.

When the boat began the slow its journey it was an indication they were approaching their safe harbour. Copley had forwarded GPS coordinates to Booker to a house along the ocean’s edge a little north of Ebsjerg. Booker saw the lights in the distance along a lonely dark stretch of coastline where but a few houses were scattered in the hills. There was a small wharf to which they could dock and walk along over the expanse of the snow covered beach.

The house itself was massive, far more so than any were expecting. The entire front of it was floor to ceiling glass with an ergonomic build and few refinements or decorations. It was functional and cold in personality, but more than enough to house nine people and allow them their own space and privacy. It would surely hold every modern amenity at a state of the art level. Surrounded by a rare copse of trees to obscure it from prying eyes, the home was well situated, which was appreciated. Andy sighed at the sight of it. It was probably voice automated and likely to terrorize the new comers. At least it was warm and clean, and if Copley had followed her instructions, full of much needed food.

They walked in single file along the narrow path, Nasir leading Agron whose hand was firmly fixed to his shoulder as they followed the others towards the house. The figure of James Copley stood in shadow against the lights of the house’s interior. He waited for them until they reached the door, then stepped aside to welcome them in.

“Hey, JC,” Nile greeted, taking his arm and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Nice digs.”

“Hello Nile,” James replied. “I figured you all deserved a day off from no running water, crumbling infrastructure and the occasional rat. We’ll only be here for a night or two before I imagine you’ll all go off to parts unknown, so I thought it would be nice.”

“Thank you, James,” Quynh spoke with an inclination of her head. “It is most suitable.” She moved past him and Nile followed.

Booker clapped Copley on the arms as he walked past and the other man smiled and called after him. “Nice fireworks display. The whole planet is talking about it.”

“Good. I’d be disappointed if they weren’t!” Booker called back. “Dinner smells great!”

“Hey Copley,” said Andy as she waited for Joe and Nicky to enter before Agron and Nasir came to the threshold of the door. Copley couldn’t hold back his smile as he observed the two new immortals.

“My word,” he breathed, staring up at Agron in wonder at Nasir in fascination. “Tell them I honoured to make their acquaintance and I apologize for the delay in their rescue.”

“ _This man is responsible for finding where you were imprisoned. Without him you would still be in bondage. He is trusted friend and brother, but mortal. Respect and cherish the friendship he offers, for he will be with us but for a few decades more. Time will pass quicker than you can believe.”_

 _“Tell him we are in his debt and offer gratitude,”_ Nasir replied. Agron nodded in affirmation but said nothing. He was still obviously ill at ease and his only grounding force was his hand on Nasir’s shoulder. Were it not for him Agron feared he would descend into insanity or violence.

“ _I will tell him so, but first, when was the last time you filled your stomachs? Drank good wine and ate a good kill? Follow, we’ll eat and then welcome slumber. We have no obligations but to self. Sleep, eat, fuck if you want, and heal. You have time beyond measure. Follow.”_

Andy inclined her head for them to follow. At the first scent of cooking meat, Agron’s stomach groaned loudly. Nicky cast him an amused glance from his position in the kitchen as he pulled the garlic and herb infused baron of beef from the oven that Copley had cooking all evening. Joe was already setting out the rosemary oiled roast potatoes and other vegetables, while Nile saw to the breads, loaves and rolls with butter, along with a pitcher of gravy. Booker set six uncorked bottles of wine on the lavishly set table. He paused a moment, then went to the pantry to fetch more.

“ _Sit,”_ Andy invited, “ _Drink and eat your fill. Celebrate. We welcome you to our family. Time is needed for you to accept us, we understand. Trust is to be earned.”_

 _“Come, brothers,"_ Nicky beckoned. “ _Wine?”_

 _“Wine,”_ Nasir grinned, maneuvering himself behind Agron to push him along towards the table, even as the giant man scowled and cursed under his breath. Nasir ushered him into a chair to sit and took the place next to him, with Nile and Booker to his left. Andy and Quynh sat at either end of the table, Andy at Agron’s right. Across from them were Joe, Nicky and Copley.

“We mustn’t wait on circumstance, help yourselves,” Copley insisted.

“Ok, but why are we drinking wine out of the coffee mugs?” Nile asked as she poured a generous amount for herself.

“Because back in their time it was pottery, not glass,” Booker provided. “The big guy would probably snap the stems by accident.”

Nile smiled and went with the flow, pouring Nasir’s mug full before passing the bottle to him to do the same with Agron’s and so forth around the table.

“I suggest we converse in the Latin,” Nicky ventured. “It is the language most common among us. Andy, Quynh, and I are most proficient, Joe too though not to the common of their era. Booker even knows a certain amount. We can translate.”

“Agreed,” Andy spoke and quickly passed the words on to Agron and Nasir. “ _Tell us, brothers, of how you came to lose yourselves in ice?”_

Nasir sighed wearily, but it was a story he wanted told. He placed a comforting hand on Agron thigh. As food was passed around the table and all took their generous fill of it, Nasir began the tale. “ _A child in the village where we had settled had gone missing. Winter was upon us, and the boy was but seven summers in age. We banded together with others to search. It was known he had fondness for the goats that roamed the precipices at the base of the mountain. Always his father was chasing after him to return him to his mother. He was a wild and free child. We often found him at door, asking to be told tales of Rome, the arena and final battle with Spartacus. Many a night Agron would have to throw boy over his shoulder and march him home. He was a terror, but loved.”_

 _“He should not have been given such freedoms,”_ Agron spoke solemnly, not looking up from his full plate, his food untouched. “ _He….”_ Agron choked back his words before continuing. “ _He is gone now, as are all the children we knew and cared for.”_

 _“You had children?”_ Nicky asked, his heart pained to hear so.

“ _Women and children that left Rome with us, two of whom bore the sons of our fallen brothers. Including the son of Spartacus,”_ Agron continued, having still not touched his meal no matter his severe hunger.

“ _Sibyl and Laeta are more resourceful than we I as one. Sibyl was to wed Fridur. Who you know loves Gannicus’ son as own. He will care for all. You called him friend and gave your trust. Eat,”_ Nasir implored, stroking his thigh and giving it a squeeze. “ _I would see you restored, my heart. Full stomach will give calm mind. We have not eaten our fill since waking. Do so if only as kindness to balm my worry.”_

Agron huffed and speared a potato with his knife, ran it though the gravy and popped it in his mouth, raising his eye brow at Nasir for his approval. Upon receiving it, Nasir continued their tale. “ _Daylight faded, we abandoned mountain and continued down well worn path back to village. Cold was fierce so we moved swiftly. The mountain cracked, rocks and snow fell. We fled. Path fell from beneath feet. Agron caught wrist, but made choice to keep hold as ground shook and crumbled. We fell together and the mountain came down. Would that he had released me and fled…”_

_“I would be befreft and alone for two thousands years as I awaited your return. Left with naught but sorrow and misery with half of heart gone. I would fall ten thousand times to remain at your side.”_

Quynh translated for Booker and Nile, and Nicky for Copley and Joe. Nile’s romantic heart melted at Agron’s words. Nicky and Joe, Andy and Quynh were going to have serious competition for her number one couples crush. She cast a side smile at Booker who returned it. He no longer begrudged others their happiness. He had the love of his family and it offered him more value than any romantic love could for the man he currently was. If he was meant to have more, it would come to him in time. He had faith in such things now.

Nasir smiled at Agron, subtle and sweet, but his eyes shone with love for the other man. Nasir inclined his head and Agron resumed his meal. “ _We knew little more after we fell, save that we cleaved to each other. Death came upon impact, snow and rock filling our grave. We knew nothing until rock shifted away, and sun was upon our faces. We were cold, our bodies trapped in ice, but we lived. Once free, they were there. Monstrous woman and her people.”_

Once Nicky had translated Copley nodded. “They found them first, or someone did. Not purely by accident I’m sure. Kozak must’ve had something in place to search for new immortals.”

“Or her latest employer did,” Andy spoke.

“I’m on it already, with Booker assistance. We’ll find them.”

They fell into silence for a time, eating their food, complimenting Copley on the meal itself, and trading looks. With observance and casual practice, it did not take Nasir or Agron long to incorporate forks into their dining. Andy caught their attention and demonstrated, then offered encouragement as they at first awkwardly put its use into practice. Nasir made sure to fill Agron’s plate the moment it looked like he’d eaten any significant amount and kept his cup full of wine.

” _We should like to hear your tales if you would give liberty to tell them,”_ Nasir prompted the others, looking around the table.

“ _And you are due. I shall speak first,”_ Quynh spoke, taking command of her audience. “ _We shall begin with me so that Nicolò and Yusuf may sweeten my sour words with their sweet ones. Theirs is a love story. Mine is not_.”

***

Once enough food had been consumed to have everyone rolling on the floor, all tales had been told and enough wine swallowed to make them all soporific with heady, warm feelings abound, Nile volunteered herself and Booker to help clean up, letting Copley retire for the evening, which meant he’d spend another few hours working before going to bed. They’d be spent monitoring his searches of the web for any hint of the immortals. He also intended to get to a certain stage in his forging of German passports for Agron and Nasir. Booker would give aid to finish them off. It was well past midnight all were truly suffering the exhaustion of the day coming over them. Andy and Quynh said their goodnights, insisting that everyone sleep as late as they wanted the following day.

In the end it was Joe and Nicky who saw their new brothers to where they could rest for the night. Their rooms were opposite each other on the third floor, two giant master bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. Agron surveyed all while Joe hung back. Nicky led Nasir to the bathroom where he showed him who to operate the taps on the bathtub as well as the shower situated opposite, explaining that the water would never run cold and they could stay in as long as they liked. He explained the purposes of shampoo and conditioner, offered him a comb and brush, offered him soap, toothbrushes to use in place of the twigs they would have chewed in the past, and a toothpaste assured to taste better than the charcoal poultice their Medicus conjured. He showed him where towels and robes were kept, where there were clean sheets should they be needed, how the lights in the rooms worked and all he could think of that they may make use of.

When he’d said his last, Nicky paused and took up a bottle that Copley obligingly left on the bathroom counter for them and handed it to Nasir. “ _I would not presume to speak to the aspects the intimacies of your relationship with Agron,”_ Nicky began. _“But allow me to say this. You need never consider oil, tallow or spit ever again in your lovemaking. Rest assured this is far superior, and use liberally. We can provide more. It will enhance every aspect of the experience.”_

Nasir eyed the bottle with intrigue, a blush forming upon his cheek. “ _You and Joe?”_

Nicky nodded and gave Nasir a knowing smile. _“Allow me to say, when this was conceived, we did not leave our bedroom for a month! I would speak further to say that as immortals, our_ endurance _and our recovery are considerably more significant than when we were not. You may have your man for hours and not tire too quickly or feel any pain too great. Love unending awaits you at joining. It will bring you joy on a level that you have yet experienced.”_

Nasir was intrigued and accepted the bottle to his hand from Nicky’s, who laughed and patted him on the shoulder and left him to go in search of his husband. He bid good night to Agron, who stood solitary in the middle of the bedroom with the tree trunks that were his arms crossed in from of his chest. Nicky refrained from pointing out that such a stance psychologically indicated a person was more fearful than confident. He knew well enough that Agron had fear rolling off him in waves. He hoped his encouragement of Nasir to take themselves to bed would come to fruition. If there was one thing that was clear, it was that Agron needed to release a hell of a lot of tension. He smiled to himself as he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him

“ _Habibi_ , why are you grinning like the Cheshire Cat?” Joe asked the doorway of their room. Nicky arched and eyebrow and Joe knew without having the words spoke. “You’re terrible.”

“If Agron doesn’t let off some of the steam he has built up, he’ll tear the house down while we sleep!” Nicky passed by Joe and into the bedroom, beginning to strip himself, letting his clothes fall and land wherever they may. “I said nothing to Agron, only Nasir and offered him a fresh bottle of our favourite.”

“Dear god, we won’t see them for days.”

Nicky smiled and dropped down on to their bed, naked with an inviting gleam in his eye. Joe took his beckoning look to heart and advanced, pulling off his shirt, but stopped short. “We should shower first.”

“We will, after, and before we go to bed. Today was considerable. I would have my husband before sleep. To continue, I also think Nasir needs Agron every bit as much - the feeling of safety only your other half can offer. He may be fierce in battle, as I know I am, but at the end of the day, I wish for nothing more than your arms around me and I sense the same is true for Nasir.”

Joe reclined next to Nicky and snuggled close, their foreheads touching. Joe lay a hand to Nicky’s cheek, his thumb caressing the apple of it. “And the end of each day, I want nothing more than to hold you too.” They came together in a soft, deep kiss that left their heads spinning. Hands wandered and caressed over exposed flesh and they moved closer together. When Joe suddenly broke off their kiss Nicked made an indignant sound of protest.

“Wait a moment,” Joe panted. “Who’s room are they above?”

“Booker’s,” Nicky replied.

Joe snickered and then began to outright giggle, which Nicky found infectious. “He’ll be such a bear all day tomorrow if they keep him up all night with their lovemaking.”

“He’ll be miserable, true. He needs his sleep and yet can never stay so much beyond dawn. He’s always tired. I do feel bad for him.”

Joe shrugged. Their rivalry remained intact, even after years had passed since Booker and Quynh’s return to their fold. Joe wasn’t going to feel too chagrinned about the situation. “Who are we above?”

“Andy and Quynh.”

“Ah, good. Andy sleeps like the dead and Quynh’s somehow always amused by us. As for Booker, eh, he’s French, he’ll always deserve it based on that alone.”

“Indeed. In Agron and Nasir’s time he’d have been from part of Gallia. I wonder how they feel about Gauls?”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Agron had not moved a muscle since walking into the room they’d been given for the night. He listened as Nasir and Nicky had spoken, catching some but not all of their conversation. He’d watched Nicky’s retreating form as he left them and closed the door. It wasn’t until Nasir lowered the lights as he’d been shown, that Agron’s attention returned fully to his lover. Nasir approached him to lay a gentle hand on his bicep and inclined his head toward the bathroom.

“Come, we should bathe, and shave. You look as a lion!” Nasir encouraged, offering a fond smile to Agron. His hair was long down past his ears and his beard full. Nasir’s own beard, which grew slow, was at the point where it bothered him and he wanted it gone. Nicky had shown him a modern razor and how to apply it. “The stench of Kozak’s prison lingers upon us still. I would see it washed from skin, washed from memory.”

“Memory will never fade,” Agron spoke solemnly. “They cut your flesh, made you bleed, made you cry in pain and agony. No, memory cannot be washed from mind. I lay bound and helpless as you were tortured. In slumber dreams come that it was you put upon cross by Caesar, that I was made to watch your death. Now nightmares have been manifested to reality. Death had you, Nasir, more than once. How am I to erase that from mind? It is all that I see!”

Nasir’s hands fisted in the sweater and t-shirt that Agron wore and after a moment he gave up his stubborn protest and relented to let Nasir strip it from his body. He sighed wearily and let himself be lead to the other room, but he would not cross the threshold. “Agron, come.”

He shook his head and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “I will stand guard.”

“You do not trust our safety?” Nasir tried in vain to coax him to move but he was as a boulder, unwilling to be budged.

“As I have spoken, I trust none but you. I will do as asked and make attempt, but I cannot leave us vulnerable while we both bathe.”

“I thought words to have already passed between us. That in giving me trust you in turn would trust those who welcome us. I find no threat from Andromache or others. Your fears are misplaced, Agron. We are among friends. Will you guard us all night and take no rest?” Agron’s jaw twitched as he ground his teeth in consternation. He did not look at Nasir but stared straight ahead at the blank wall, immovable and his face as stone. Nasir sighed. “Very well, as you wish.”

Nasir watched Agron’s back as he set the hot water to running in the shower before stripping himself and stepping into the cascade. He had never felt such warmth infuse his weary bones and muscles as he did in that moment. He closed his eyes and turned his face into the pelts of water so like rain on his face. He groaned audibly and hoped it caught his lover’s attention. With hair and body soaked in divine heat, Nasir used the items Nicky had shown him earlier, first one in his hair and then the other, dragging the comb through to unravel any knots and tangles. He lathered his body in soap and rinsed himself clean. The heady scent of olive blossoms and ginger filled his senses and he luxuriated in all. Nasir’s only regret was that he’d not been able to convince Agron to join him. He shaved, and afterwards Nasir stood silent in thought as the water sluiced down his back and legs. Agron was of a character he knew more intimately than he knew even himself. There was no mystery as to why his beloved behaved as he did and Nasir knew what was needed to have him unshackle himself from thoughts of guilt, sorrow and fear.

He left the water running for Agron and exited the shower, closing its glass door behind him. He pulled on a robe to keep the heat in, and dried his body with a towel before beginning to work on his hair, brushing it out again as he squeezed the water from it into another towel. Nicky had assured him he needed be conservative with anything that was offered. He passed by Agron, still standing sentinel and did not look back at him. “Make use of the soap,” Nasir spoke, clearly as an order. “Every part of you, including hair. I’ve left drying cloths for you on the latrine. Be thorough.”

Agron grunted in response, his mood still sour. He had listened intently to the moans and sighs his beloved had made as he’d washed. Agron had felt as if he wanted to tear his skin off from the frustration of not being able to join him. There was a trembling, awful fear in the pit of his stomach, a tight knot that simply would not unfurl for all his wishing for it to do so. They had been rescued, clothed and fed, and offered shelter, a bath, and a warm bed, and yet he still could not surrender himself. It was all he could do to not cast his mind back to the unending days spend strapped in place and every painful and imaginable indignity had been inflicted upon them. They knew none of the common tongue, none of the words spoken over them, only the callous and capricious, malicious inclinations of a mad woman. She had been cold and indifferent to their suffering and had always a gleam of gleeful anticipation in her eye as she cut into their flesh. He had seen such a look before, in the eyes of Caesar as Agron’s hands had been nailed to the cross.

They had been told and that Nicky and Joe had suffered at her hand too. He would hear more of that tale when he had the stomach for it, until then he had no want of it. How could he trust to their safety when the entire world they’d wakened to sought to harm them? The endless stretch of time when they had taken Nasir away from his sight had been an agony far worse than any injury. He had no knowledge of night or day, waking or dreaming, he knew only that his very soul had been torn from his body. He had been helpless and impotent. He had failed to protect the man he loved, the man he’d claimed as husband five Springs passed on the Night of Hexennacht before the whole village in a handfasting. They were then sent straight to their bed, not to emerge until morning, avoiding all threats from beyond the veil. A night spent in passionate embrace left them invulnerable to the wiles of witches and demons, so the folk of the village had assured them. They were wed, they were one, and they had been torn apart.

Even as he scrubbed his skin raw under the scalding heat of the water and the soap stung at his eyes, he could not shake the pull of the darkness that threatened to consume him. He dug his fingers into the tile of the wall to prevent himself from punching through it. He opened his mouth wide and screamed without letting his voice escape, until the veins in his neck nearly burst. He stood under the water and held all his rage and fear inside him until his head throbbed and his muscles were tense enough to tear.

When finally he could endure no longer, he turned the tap and the water ceased. He had been listening to Nicky, even if he had not observed him and with Nasir. He dried himself and gathered his clothes, intent on doing just as Nasir had accused him of, and keep watch through the night. The lights had been dimmed even further when he emerged, leaving a darkened bathing room behind him. What he saw gave him pause and his clothing fell from his hands as the breath was stolen from him. Nasir lay supine and nude upon the bed, his long black hair around his shoulders, still damp and curling in waves. His eyes glowed amber in the light from the lamps that burned without flame on either side of the bed. He was golden and clean, and perfect.

Nasir looked up at him and smiled softly, eyes hooded by long black lashes. “Last memory before death under weight of mountain was husband’s loving arms giving strength, comfort and protection,” Nasir spoke, his voice low and beckoning. “I would have that tonight.” Agron remained silent and warred heavily within himself. He wanted nothing more than to sink deeply into Nasir’s embrace and banish all that plagued him, but he could not make the choice needed. He could not let himself go. “The candle of life now burns slow, Agron, when once it burned so bright I feared it would extinguish before I scarcely looked upon its light. I would have you smile again, husband.”

“I am broken in want of you,” Agron replied, his voice thick and hoarse from emotion as he knelt at the side of the bed and looked upon Nasir’s nude form inviting him to join with him.

“Then have me. Agron, we have not lain together in more than two moons. Would you continue to deny your heart its desire and prolong separation? What of my need? Would you have me beg for your kiss? Your touch? Have I not suffered enough? Must I endure the loss of you still?”

“Nasir…”

“We _are_ safe. I swear it on own life this belief. Agron, _please_ …” The pained way in which he’d spoken his last word shattered Agron’s heart. He could not deny Nasir, in anything. Nasir reached for him and gently pulled him down into his arms, hands framing his face. “We are safe, my heart. Safe together.”

Agron lay himself heavy on Nasir, pressing him down into the mattress and lay their foreheads together. Nasir’s legs came loosely around his waist, but his arms were secure around his back. Nasir’s kiss was always a balm, an affirmation and a comfort, but to Agron in this instance it was all. There was no fiery passion to their lips and tongues caressing each other, but instead a reaffirmation of their bond. Nasir’s hands moved over Agron’s tired muscles and into his hair as he pulled him in closer. Arousal came upon them slowly, but it came nonetheless and soon had them both hard against each other. Agron vibrated with need and he pressed bruises into Nasir’s body as he gripped him.

“I would have you inside me,” Nasir spoke into his ear. “Give to me all sorrow, all fear, all anger. I would share burdens.”

“Nasir… I would not. Not you. I would spare you all pain.”

“You cannot, it is impossible dream. We must be all as equals, even with that which haunts us. We cannot spare the other pain, but it is defeated for a time in the heights of our ecstasy is it not?”

“All is forgotten but you, Nasir.”

“Then let us forget.”

Nasir drew him down for another kiss, this one far more hungry and desperate than the last, biting and pulling at Agron’s lips until the fire was ignited within him and the rough, commanding kiss that Agron often demanded of him made itself known. He dragged his lips along the column of Nasir’s throat and bit hard into the flesh of his shoulder, enough to make the other man cry out in shocked pain and definite pleasure. Agron frowned as he watched the mark fade and disappear in seconds.

Nasir smiled up at him, offering comfort. “Be within me.”

Agron agreed and kissed him again, regaining the passion they’d had in their grasp moments before. “Have we oil?”

Nasir shook his head. “There is no need. I have already prepared myself for you while you refused to bathe with me. Nicky has gifted us with a creation of this time that will ease our way better than any oil, so I am told. Have me at your leisure, and have me with vigor, Agron – you need not concern yourself to take care with me. I want to be burned by the fire that dwells in you. Too long it has been absent inside me. I wish to feel it as it enter, consumes. I desire to feel its flame spread through me as you spill you seed. Take what it yours.”

Nasir held back a choked cry as Agron surged into him, overwhelmed and consumed with the sensation of joining with him again after so long. The wounded sob Agron let out told Nasir that his love had finally succumbed. Though he moved them together with purpose, Nasir felt Agron’s tears against his neck and shoulder. Nasir held him tight as they rocked together, whispering words of encouragement and love in his ear. The carried on, and on, and on, the sounds of their coupling and rocking of the bed filling the room, and most likely the whole house.

The harder Agron pushed the more tears he shed and Nasir welcomed all, surrendering all to Agron, body and soul. When Agron’s lips found their way to his again, his kiss was fierce, ravenous and begging. There was no place Agron could gain purchase on Nasir’s body that would satisfy and satiate adequately. He could not go deep enough with cock or tongue to calm the war in his heart. He was a broken man clinging to his only lifeline. Nasir was all in that moment, just as Agron was to him.

Their rhythm faltered and their voices rose in wordless pleas and supplications. When the breaking point finally came to them, Agron scored his nails down Nasir’s thigh as he pulled it up over his ribs while the other gripped his hand hard enough to nearly crush the bones. Upon feeling the sensation of Agron coming inside him at his deepest point, he threw his head back and cried out with abandon as his own release left him.

In the aftermath, Agron lay heavy atop him and made no motion to leave him as Nasir grip kept him in place, lips kissing away the tears that still tracked down the length of Agron’s face.

“Agron, my brave warrior who has stood so strong against so many,” Nasir spoke in a ragged but softened voice as they locked eyes.

The sorrow that remained in Agron broke Nasir’s heart and he pulled his face into the crook of his neck to let him hide.

“Your beauty will never fade, your black hair never to turn silver, and I am sad. I had wished to grow old with you,” Agron lamented.

Nasir smiled, raised Agron’s face and kissed the tip of his nose. “We will grow old in heart and soul, and so shall our love.”

“This is not our home. We are strangers in strange land, this is not our world. I am lost.”

“You are found, Agron. You are _my_ world. Wherever I am, I am home so long as you are there to hold. Rest now in loving arms and never leave them. I am here and yours for eternity.”

***

In the hours after slumber had claimed all, the house was as was all the world around them. Agron was roused from a dream an hour before dawn, where the sky would lighten only a fraction in the perpetual night of a winter in the Jutland. He had rested after Nasir had rolled him on to his back and had him again, riding him slow but ardently until Agron had felt as if he’d been torn apart and is soul had left him. He had wakened from a dream he could not remember, save vaguely for the image of his brother Duro laughing at him. The memory both pained and pleased him. He left Nasir under warm blankets, dead to the world and not a bruise or scratch upon him. All evidence of the coupling gone in an instant.

Agron was restless and though his body craved slumber, he could not find it again after his dream. He left their room after pulling on the discarded undergarment he’d been given and wandered the house, all doors were closed and all were quiet in their beds. At length he found himself returning to the main floor of the house, called to look at the tempestuous winter sea as the waves crashed upon icy shores. He wondered absently if his mother had ever been drawn as such. She had often told him stories of her homeland and he remembered she loved the sea and missed it when she came to the mountain lands with her father to be wed to a village Chieftan’s son. The match had been political, at first, but Agron had always known that he parents had loved each other. They laughed, teased and kissed each other and as a young boy he could never understand how it was they were always so distracted from the world around them as they gazed at each other. He smiled absently at the memories, understanding now the depth of what love could mean to a person.

He approached the window and looked out. The night was clear and he saw nothing but stars above, with the faint colours of the Aurora Borealis dancing on the horizon. He sighed wearily and stood before the great expanse watching the sea, trying to clear his head of all the thoughts that muddled them. The lovemaking and release he’d found in Nasir had aided him considerably. It had reminded him acutely that Nasir was still with him and not a phantom. He had a home in the form of one person. Wherever their circumstances guided them, he had his lodestar and his purpose. He had his husband. Nothing else truly mattered.

The rustling of pages had him pivoting around, reaching to his side for a sword that was not there. He had not seen that Joe was already present, sitting in the dark, using the moonlight reflected off the water and the snow to illuminate his work as he sketched in a book.

Agron clenched his jaw and gave the other man a nod. “ _Apologies, I will leave,”_ Agron spoke as he turned to go, hoping the other man understood his words.

“ _Stay, if you wish,”_ Joe responded. “ _I listened as we ate, I think my Latin is good enough for us to converse, if you would break words? I often cannot fall asleep after a tiring day. The quiet helps calm me before I return to my beloved’s arms.”_

_“I understand well enough your tongue.”_

_“Good, I’m gladdened.”_ Joe smiled up at him. He wore different clothes than he had a dinner. They appeared loose, comfortable and soft. Agron was used to wearing little more than he had donned presently and the room was warm, so he did not feel embarrassed at his lack of clothing. “ _When I first discovered my immortality, I didn’t sleep for days. Nicky and I were still hellbent on killing each other at the time, so that was of no help. I know we must earn your trust. I can only offer the sincerity of my words and over time my actions to prove to you that you are among family. We will educate you in the common tongue. We will offer you protection. We will provide for you until you are able to provide for yourselves. If anyone lays a hand on you or Nasir, we will destroy them.”_ The darkness in Joe’s gaze and the conviction of his words stirred Agron. But then he smiled and gestured for him to sit on the sofa opposite the one he was reclined in. Agron did as he was bade. Joe resumed his sketching. “ _It may hearten you to know that the name of Spartacus and all he stood for is known by everyone who lives today. His legacy has endured for two millennia and will likely be remembered for as long as human beings exist_. _You will find Rome’s influence has stretched far and wide. It is because of them that there is an arena in every city, though the people who entertain us, be it for sport or theatre, are the most revered in the world and also among the wealthiest. None are slaves. On the contrary, they have much influence. Rome is in the roads we travel, the democracies that thrive, and fail. It is in infrastructure, laws, bridges, it’s everywhere.”_

_“Legacy built on backs of slaves.”_

_“Built on the backs of slaves, yes. You will find this time beautiful and terrible in equal measure. Two thousand years have passed since you were last among us. You will need time, Agron. Time to heal, time to learn, and time to rest. Do not take the weight of the world upon yourself. You are not Atlas, nor do you need to be. I think now would be a good time for us all to hide for a while. We will have to leave here eventually. Copley is a trusted friend, but he is not one of us. If you permit it, I would invite you to come to a place. In your time it was called the Isle of Melita, today it is known as Malta.”_

_“Melita is a Roman island.”_

_“It was, but it is independent now. It will remind you of the world you left behind. It’s where we go to escape. We can live there in peace for many, many years. Nicky and I have a villa there with more than enough room for all of us. I imagine that eventually Andromache and Quynh will wish to wander again. They can never stay idle, nor can Booker or Nile. Nicky and I? We are content to be solitary. To raise goat for a decade and make cheese.”_

A strange feeling came over Agron, one that shifted his entire sense of self. He suddenly found a commonality with Joe that he had not expected. “ _Nasir and I, we too kept a farm of goats, foul beasts that they are.”_

Joe laughed and nodded his head in agreement. “ _Nicky loves them like they’re his own children.”_

_“As does Nasir! By the gods, I cannot fathom it!”_

_“The stink! The constant destruction! How is it they escape even the most secure of fences?”_

_“I know not, but forever we chase them over the hills!”_

The two men continued to laugh together, the first inklings of friendship beginning between them. “ _We will get our men the goats they love so well. We still have a barn for them on Melita. Let them have them. We shall be spared!”_

_“Save for the eating of the cheese!”_

_“My Nicky is a master! Pure ambrosia!”_

_“Nasir’s secret is to mix honey with the milk.”_

_“Honey? Interesting.”_

_“Divine.”_

_“I look forward to it! Ah, Agron, you have no idea of the joy I am filled with at the thought of the depth of love you and Nasir have yet to discover for each other. I have scarcely spent more than a few days away from my husband in one thousand years. One thousand years! Can you even imagine so great an expanse of time in your lover’s embrace? Surely there will be hardship. That cannot be avoided nor the reality of it denied, but every moment will be well spend because you and Nasir will be together. You will always pray to your god to grant you but one more day with them, even as the centuries fall behind you as you live together day in and day out. You do not yet know the weight or the breadth of your love. It is all before you and the beauty of it is enough to cause my heart to burst from my chest. There are such happy times to come, my brother, such wonderful days of love and celebration.”_

Joe’s impassioned speech roused Agron and he could not help but smile to himself. Perhaps there was more common ground between them all than he’d previously thought. “ _Gratitude_.”

” _You are welcome, brother. You will find a brotherhood among us. If one day you are ready, you made follow our cause.”_

“ _Your cause? I have followed one for their cause and while it was just, it cost me a brother by blood and countless brothers in arms. I love and still mourn Spartacus, but he brought ruin to more than Rome with his rebellion.”_

Joe shook his head. “ _We are all of us warriors but know well that war is futile. At times we will take up the cause, when the suffering it too great to ignore and we believe we can make a difference. But now? We fight in the shadows. We write our names on forgotten walls in the blood of the wicked. We seek only to free the innocent from torment. Slavery exists still, but hidden from wide seeing eyes. We can go places others cannot, we can survive where others would fall.”_ Agron listened to Joe speak with cold sobriety seizing his heart. Two thousand years had passed and nothing had changed.

“ _It is too much, I apologize,”_ Joe continued. “ _You mustn’t take any burdens upon yourself. Nicky will have my head if I have caused you any pain. Agron, you and Nasir need only focus on learning how to survive this new world. You will have nothing but peace. I will ensure it. You have no obligations to us, only to yourself and Nasir.”_

Agron had no response, only a strong desire to return to his bed and the fierce and attendant comfort of Nasir’s embrace.

As if summoned by the gods themselves, the man in his thoughts appeared in the flesh, but not before Nicky came trundling down the stairs and staggered across the expanse towards Joe. He was addled and naked save for the sheet he clasped around his waist. Knowing what was coming, Joe set his sketchbook on the table just in time to catch Nicky’s palm at the center of his chest as it pushed him back against the cushion. Nicky made a noise of derision at having to come all the way downstairs to sleep and promptly collapsed atop Joe, letting himself fall under almost instantly.

Nasir huffed out a laugh and walked towards Agron. “ _A cold bed and lack of husband’s loving arms wrest me from much needed slumber,”_ he spoke, holding his hand out in invitation to Agron, who rose accordingly and looked to Joe and Nicky for a moment. Seeing the tender way in which Joe held the man in loved eased Agron’s heart. They were not among monsters. He then cast a glace at the open page on the table and saw his own image staring back at him and that of Nasir’s. His heart was heavy, but Nasir beckoned. He needed time, he knew, and he thought perhaps it was time to claim it without reservation. He accepted Nasir’s hand and being led back to their bed.  
  
  
***

As a little visual reference, here's what Agron's shaggy lion's mane is doing in this story:

[](https://imgur.com/s8GiUM2)

And to show just what a Beast from East of the Rhine he really is size wise (for the purpose of this fic, in life Dan's 6'2" and Pana's 5'8", but these pics make Agron look enormous, and I like it, lol).

[ ](https://imgur.com/3D8ZKsX)

[](https://imgur.com/TPEOvyN)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Agron wakened it was to the sensation of familiar finders stroking through the length of his hair while lips dotted kisses upon his own, along with his cheeks, nose, shut eyes and forehead. He could not keep himself from smiling. He felt as if he had finally, finally, had his proper rest and slumber and would continue to lay soporific as a cat in the sun under his husbands’ attention.

“There, it returns to me, your smile,” Nasir spoke against his lips.

“Conjured solely but your touch and proximity,” Agron spoke in a roughened voice. “And your ministrations to starved body last night.”

“Does this mean you will no longer offer resistance when cock is desired.”

“No more, husband, it is yours to have as you wish, as is all of me.”

“Words gladden heart, and own cock, for you are ever desired. Some might judge you by size and think you fuck as an angry ox, but could not be further from truth. You are powerful, to be certain, but possess a kindness and gentleness that none but I am blessed to know.”

“And no one else ever shall. I am yours and yours alone. I can now well imagine years ahead spent pleasing you in our bed. Body will never age and stamina never diminish.”

“You broke words with Joe last night?”

Agron nodded and opened his eyes, rolling Nasir half under him as Agron curled his body around Nasir and lay his ear to his heart. Nasir returned to stroking his hair and waited for him to speak. “We spoke, yes. He wishes us to go to the Island of Melita.”

“We know it as Roman. Is it no longer?”

“Independent. He and Nicky have a home upon it.”

“And what would we do in Melita?”

“Nothing, so he says. Rest, tarry in all things in life. Learn the common tongue.” Nasir’s thumb caressed the shell of Agron’s ear and caused him to shiver and Nasir to smile upon him.

“As much peace as could be hoped for?” Agron nodded and turned his face into Nasir’s body, inhaling the lingering scent of their sex and sweat from hours before. “We should accept. We cannot make our way as we are. There will be others such as Kozak who would hunt for us. We must learn from them how to survive.”

“Then accept we must. I am weary still, Nasir. My mind will not calm nor my heart. I live in fear that you will be taken from me. I cannot bear the loss of you, never again.”

“Nor I you, my dearest and only love.”

“Fuck the gods, when will the Fates let us be! Immortality is a great and terrible gift I would not ask for.”

“You think of Quynh? Her capture and centuries under ocean?”

“You know my thoughts, as always. We may never die, but that does not mean that we escape suffering.”

Nasir tugged on Agron’s hair to bring his head back so their eyes could meet. “Husband,” Nasir spoke softly as their eyes met. Agron took in a deep, full breath. Whenever the word was spoken he felt how visceral and powerful their connection was. Nasir never failed to rouse his courage. “Dwell not on what may be, but what is. I am in your arms. The gods do favour us, for we are together still and have brought us to others who take us in as family.”

“Speak again the word? For each time it passes your lips I am heartened.”

Nasir grinned and cupped the side of his face. “Husband. Husband I am here.”

Agron smiled. “You are here, and none shall wrest you from my arms. I will slay all who dare.” With that Agron caught Nasir’s mouth for a kiss so passionate they were left breathless and as ravenous for each other as they’d been before slumber. With a wicked gleam in his eye Agron took hold of Nasir by his hips and pressed him to the mattress keeping their eyes locked as he began to move down his body. Nasir closed his and surrendered.

***

“Joe, my love, I think we are very old,” Nicky mused as he stood at the stove, examining the bread dough he’d prepared, gauging whether or not to leave it to rise further. Joe stood beside him, stirring the leftover beef from their dinner into the stew he was preparing for their evening meal. They’d all missed breakfast, content to sleep the day away. Even Andy had not risen until an hour past. She, along with Quynh and Nile had gone to walk along the frozen shore. It was Nile’s first trip to Denmark and she wanted to take it in for the short time they’d be at the safe house. Booker was passed out on the couch. As predicted, he’d not slept much the night before, entirely thanks to Agron and Nasir’s incessant lovemaking. Copley has not yet emerged from his room.

“You are correct,” Joe replied, leaning over to press a kiss upon the prominent mole on his husband’s cheek, not catching precisely what Nicky was referring to until there was a dull thud from two floors above, and then another, and then began more in a solid rhythm. Joe chuckled to himself and then to Nicky as he caught his eye. “Just because we did not have sex more than once last night doesn’t mean we’re old. They’ve been frozen for two thousands years, let them be. They’re still young men in love. By their perspective, they’ve been together less than a decade. Do you remember what we were like during our first ten years together?”

“Mmm… we used all the olive oil in from Jerusalem to Antioch.”

Joe grinned and leaned into kiss his husband, spurned on by the muffled sounds of passion above them. They broke apart at a noise that sounded very much like a growl. Joe looked to Nicky and raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, young love!” Joe laughed. “They will do well in Malta, I think.”

“I think so also. I would see them brought to a place of peace in our villa, one space given to them while we live in the other. We shall spend our days in the way of life on the island. Let them live in quiet repose as they learn English, German too for certain, and all the things Nile has put on her list.”

“I do not think Beyonce, while certainly worthy of note, is not quite as high a priority as Charlemagne, Martin Luther or Shakespeare.”

“My dearest, not to Nile.”

There were more noises from above, rising in crescendo until finally ceasing. “Think we will see them for supper?” Joe laughed.

“After all their activities, I should think they would want food to replenish their reserves. Besides, Copley said he wanted to speak with all of us.”

“Regarding?”

“He did not say, only that we would appreciate the news.”

Joe nodded in acceptance. “Where are our sisters?”

“Nile wanted to walk along the beach, Andy and Quynh went with her. Quynh has never been to Denmark either. Something about the sea and ice entrances her, so she thought to see it for herself.”

“It will always be part of her now, won’t it? The sea?”

“Yes, it is so _habibi_ ,” Nicky sighed. “Its rhythm is within her now for always. I think it gives her strength, to stand on the shore and let it look at her but no longer seize her. I believe it grants her power once stolen from her. She and our new brothers have an understanding. They too were held captive. They by other men as Roman slaves, and her by the oceans at the hands of the merciless.”

“We are an eclectic group, of that there is no doubt.” In the distance of the living area, Booker began to snore and Joe laughed to himself. “And we could not give up a single once of them for anything.”

Agron and Nasir did eventually emerge from their bedroom, freshly showered and dressed in the clothing they’d been given. Copley had procured more, but the opportunity to pass it to them had not yet presented itself. Again they gathered around the table to share the evening meal. Agron and Nasir had missed breakfast and lunch.

“ _Has your appetite been satiated_?” Andy teased in the old Germanic, her eyes full of mirth.

Agron looked at Nasir out of the corner of his eye as he dipped his bread into the stew Joe had prepared and he smirked. “ _Sister, there are some hungers that never shall be, thank the gods.”_

Nasir laughed bat at Agron’s thigh with his hand.

“Copley, you have intel for us?” Andy asked before she translated for the other two.

“Would this not be best saved for after the meal?” he replied, taking a sip of his water. They’d consumed most of the wine in the house. “It’s not terribly savoury a conversation.”

“What better time then when we’re all together in good moods? It’s fine, James. We knew there’d be more people out there other than Merrick and Kozak, better that we get ahead of them before they come for us.”

Copley sighed as Agron and Nasir were filled in on the conversation. “Very well. As expected, Kozak had an employer. He has a name, but he is part of a larger group. A conglomerate with considerable means. Mostly European, but also American. They fund pharmaceutical companies, hold military contracts, and the like. Their pursuit of power shifted focus when knowledge of you came to Merrick, something I understand I am largely responsible for, much to my continued shame. They seek what you have, as all men in power do when they wish to prolong it. I have names, locations. There’s half a dozen figureheads and their underlings, another dozen or so.”

“Government involved at all?” Booker asked. “CEOs are easier than diplomats to take out.”

“They have government connections, but non are specifically attached to any agency, no.”

“Good. It always gets messy when it’s government.”

“That’s not to say this won’t get messy. These men have their hands in some very ugly criminal activity, they have dangerous friends.”

“So make us a list,” Andy spoke in all seriousness. “We’ll work our way through it.”

“What? A murder spree?”

“Of people who would imprison and torture us? Who are involved in _some very ugly criminal activity_? What are we talking? Chemical weapons? Human Trafficking?”

Copley sighed. “Point conceded. I’ll prepare the files for you. I’d like you to be a bit more discreet than your show in Hamburg, and take your time with the mission, let it seem coincidental for as long as possible.”

Agron and Nasir sat as silent as Joe and Nicky as Andy and Copley traded words. Nicky translated in hushed tones and Agron’s eyes grew ever darker at the subject of the discussion, reminded of his time under Rome’s oppression. Would the world never cease to attempt to wrest freedom from them? Nasir’s hand on his thigh grounded him. “ _We go to war then?”_ Agron asked and Andy looked to him.

“ _No, not you or Nasir. You’ve earned your rest. The threat exists because of our actions, not yours. I would see you both safe from their reach. You are not versed in modern warfare. With all due respect, you would be hindrance more than help,”_ Andy spoke plainly.

Agron could not help but notice the relief that came over his husband at Andromache’s words. They were prepared to fight if called upon, but neither desired it.

“Nicky and I want to take them home,” Joe spoke up. “We’ll go to Tunis first. Sorry, Copley, you don’t get to know where our finale destination is. Some places need to be safe for us, even from you.”

“So we’ll divide in half,” Andy concluded with a nod of her head. “The four of you to… your home. The rest of us, on mission. Are we agreed?”

“Yeah, boss, I’m in,” Booker replied. “The deeper the rabbit hold goes, the more I want to fill it in and crush them under the weight of it. I’m too old for this shit, I don’t want any of us to live in fear.”

“I’m in too,” Nile added. “I’m too young to put up with this shit anymore.”

“We are all with you, Andromache,” Quynh spoke, a thin smile turning up the corner of her lips. “Out brothers deserve to live in peace. We shall see it done.”

Upon hearing the translation, Agron grew silent, but Nasir was prompted to speak, “ _We offer gratitude. We will gladly fight along side you when called. I suffered grievous injury at Roman hands, had it not been sealed by fire I would have been gone from this world, or so was the thought. I had wished to continue to fight along side Agron, but Spartacus deemed my wound un-mended. It was not my time then, and it is not our time now. But know we will repay your generosity. Give us blades set us to task. We will always be warriors.”_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The crackling of the fire in combination with the crashing of the waves upon the Maltese shore allowed Agron’s mind to be occupied with something other than his untethered thoughts. The journey from the Jutland to Melita, called Malta in this new era, had been arduous for him. Nasir had taken things in stride, though he’d barely let go of his hold on Agron for the entire sojourn across the skies, the roads and the sea. In the morning they’d been in the Jutland, and by the evening they were in Melita. In his and Nasir’s time the journey would’ve taken months. Agron had spent the first part of their sojourn, in what Nicky had named as an _airplane_ , with his head between his knees and Nasir rubbing his back. He had never felt such discombobulation in his life, not even upon the roughest of seas. The fact that they were suspended in the air like a bird was something he’d forced from the forefront of his mind. He could not fathom it in the least. He concentrated solely on Nasir’s touch. His husband on the other hand had seemed to continue to be accepting and open to their continued new experiences. Joe had assured them that Copley had procured a private escort for them and normally they’d been among throngs of people. It was not something Agron relished experiencing in the future.

The noise and bustle of the city of Tunis was equally as overwhelming, but at least he could feel the solidity of stone and sand beneath his feet. They’d been moved through the city by what was called a _car_ , a transport they’d already experienced by virtue of their capture at Kozak’s hand. The entire experience set him keenly on edge, but he’d kept silent and trusted in Nasir’s trust of Joe and Nicky to navigate them to their next destination. There had been remnants of the ancient aspects of the city and it heartened him to see that some things did endure the ravages of millennia. Joe and Nicky spoke the language with the same aplomb they did breathing. It was the language that Nasir ought to have spoken had he not been stolen from his homeland as a child.

By the time they reached the port, Agron was ready to tear the clothing from his body and dive into the ocean in haste to escape the sensory onslaught he’d been subjected to. He had reached the same brink while in Kozak’s possession. He stood on the docks lost in thought as he gazed upon the azure blue of the ocean. Nasir was still near, but Joe and Nicky has been lost to them. It was not until Nasir had turned his face to his and smiled that Agron felt a semblance of himself. Then, there was two hands about his face and a kiss to his lips, a kiss that Agron welcomed with a need that surprised even himself.

“You were not listening, my love,” Nasir spoke.

“You spoke?” Agron asked, perplexed. He always listened when Nasir broke words.

Nasir shook his head, laughing softly to himself. “Nicky. He said that we’re to go the last of our journey by boat. We will be a day upon water, then finally rest. They thought journey would be better than another sojourn through air.”

“Thank the fucking gods! I have no ambitions to see the peak of Olympus.”

“It was not so bad.”

“Nasir, I have never wished for death, not even when upon the cross, but upon looking through glass to see earth fathomless depths below, I prayed to Pluto himself to claim me.”

“Perhaps I should don guise of Eros and claim you first.”

“I would fall supplicant at your feet and worship you, if you did.”

Nasir laughed and claimed another kiss from him until Nicky returned to say that Joe had acquired the boat from Copley’s connection. Nasir clasped him by the wrist and Agron allowed himself to be lead, hoisting the bag that carried his and Nasir’s new belongings in them over his shoulder. They wove between the people, past fishermen unloading their catch until they spied Joe before a boat not unlike they one that had taken them to the Jutland just a few days earlier. Already Agron and Nasir felt the keen absence of the others. Agron pined for Andromache in particular. Out of all them she reminded him most of his people. She was a powerful woman and though there had been few in his life he’d wished to associate with beyond the bonds born of battle, he did wish to count her as a sister. She was a tie to a time that was lost to him save for Nasir. They had said they’d be gone for at least a year. They would appear on Melita from time to time, but it would take them all over the world and much strategy to eliminate all those that posed a threat.

Upon arrival to the island, Joe navigated the boat through the sunset waters to a beach void of people or edifices save for a sprawling villa situated upon an expanse of white rock with steps leading up to it from where they moored the boat at a wharf that floated upon the waves. They walked the beach, then up the steps to the back walls of the villa and a door that was kept secure with an iron lock that would not easily be broken. Nicky disappeared for a moment and returned with a series of large iron keys on a ring, selecting the correct one and passing it to Joe

The garden they passed into was akin to the Elysium Fields of lore. Agron and Nasir recognized pomegranate, apricot, almond and fig trees, greenery galore and a wild garden of herbs. Within the walls of the villa were two homes, connected by an arbour over a cooking hearth with a path of patterned stones between them. Everything they set their eyes upon was either stone or wood, and all was painted white. It had an air of peace to it unmatched save for the house of wood and stone he and Nasir had built for themselves at the foothills of the mountain. It had been theirs, and this was Joe and Nicky’s.

“ _We have had this home for over three centuries_ ,” Joe explained. “ _It was in ruins when we first came upon it, but it only took a few years to restore. We come here whenever we need to escape the world, which happens often enough. You’ll find your place too one day, but for now, our home is your home. I imagine we’ll be here for a pair of years, to be honest. It will take that long at least for you to master new languages_.”

“ _It is not as modern as the houses Copley provides,”_ Nicky continued, “ _But there is light, hot running water and something you will learn that is invaluable called WiFi. For tonight, however, we have no obligation but to eat and to sleep. Tomorrow we will walk the island and show you the village. There is a large city but it is miles away. We need not subject you to it for a while yet. I will let Joe show you to your rooms, while I will prepare of meal from the ingredients we purchased in Tunis. There is fresh fish and vegetables, and something honey-sweet called Baklava for afterwards.”_

Joe grinned and kissed Nicky’s cheek before motioning for the other two to follow him. He took another key from the ring and unlocked the home on the left, turning on the lights as he entered. As with the outside, the interior was white, with wooden beams above supporting the second floor and a narrow stair case leading up to it and another beside it, leading down. Sheets covered the furniture and the décor that consisted of artifacts collected over the centuries.

“ _We make sure to come back as much as possible to ensure the house is in good condition_ ,” Joe explained as he began to pull the sheets away and pile them to the side. “ _Please think of this home as yours. The bathroom and bedroom are upstairs. The main floor is as you see it, with the kitchen to the right there. It connects with the arbour and wood fire oven outside that both homes share. We are connected below as well, and I would show you now if you’ll follow_.”

Joe flipped on the light switch at the top of the stairs and the passage was bathed in a soft light emanating from below. Upon the landing Joe stepped aside to let the other two see and marvel. To the back of the cellar was a rack that held wine from the floor to ceiling, but that was not what had caught their attention. No, indeed, it was the vast array of weapons that covered every available surface of the stone walls that were the foundation of the villa. There was every form a blade imaginable, along with bows and arrows, crossbows, spears, and innumerable others. One wall was covered in guns and Agron frowned at it, far more interested in what he recognized and knew how to wield. He was decidedly not fond of guns, having felt their damage to his flesh at the hands of Kozak’s guards.

“ _None have ever laid siege to us here in three hundred years, but should any come to our door bearing ill will, avail yourselves of anything you see. Also, we need not be fat and lazy during our time here. I would enjoy sparring with each of you,”_ Joe spoke, gesturing around the room. “ _There at the end is the door that leads up to Nicky and I. And here, behind the wine…”_ Joe walked over and with a gentle tug, the wall of racks gave way and swung open across the stone floor to reveal another door. “ _Beyond this door is a means of escape. The passageway leads under the cliffs and out upon the beach. Would that we never have need of it, but here it is nonetheless.”_

They ate the evening meal in relative silence, all of them tired from their long journey. The winter nights in Malta were genuinely cold but well above freezing, still it took them inside to Joe and Nicky’s, where Agron observed the room as they ate, seeing the touches of the home that made it _theirs_. His Nasir’s home had been as such, though their possessions were few. Already he missed the carvings of old Sigfrøðr that hung above the mantle in their hearth. The man had spent over a month carving the mandala depicting the seasons and had blessed them with it on the day of their handfasting. He’d taken them under his wing, welcomed them to the village and provided aid in all forms. Agron had come to love him as a father. Sigfrøðr’s own son had died of a fever a pair of winters past and Agron had reminded him of his boy. It was a good friendship that had lasted but a year as the old man had followed his son into the afterlife before Agron had truly got to know him.

His thoughts turned to Laeta and the son she’d born for Spartacus, and to Sibyl and the son she’d born for Gannicus, two children born to dead fathers who would be raised as brothers. Both boys had adored he and Nasir, and Agron had thought it his responsibility to act for his fallen brothers and care for his children as if they were his own. He could not fathom that they had been gone from the world for over two millennia now. Had they grown and had sons of their own? Were their descendants walking the earth?

The house he and Nasir had built with their own two hands was long lost to age and ruin. He had felled the trees himself, gathered the stones from the river. They had toiled all the year and finished just before winter had come. Their first night inside their home had been lost in lovemaking and pride for all they had accomplished. Memories of battle and Rome had been erased for a night. They had built up their farm, tended to their goats and thrived.

It was gone now, all of their past swept away by time.

Afterwards, Nasir and Joe had gotten deep into conversation, Nasir learning all Joe could remember his travels in Syria, first as a merchant trader and second with Nicky at his side. Agron slipped away as Nicky tidied up from dinner. Earlier Agron had noticed a flint stone and steel to strike it upon by the wood fire oven outside. Walking away from Nasir felt inherently and painfully wrong, but Agron would not suffer Nasir’s his melancholy mood and dark thoughts. It was clear that Nasir’s intention was to embrace their new life as best he may. He had always been able to make friends where Agron remained guarded. He could be gregarious and social, but as the years had worn on, Agron had trusted people less and less. Even their neighbours chose to approach the ever smiling Nasir first for fear Agron might be of an unfavourable disposition. He hated himself for is failings, and they seemed to be innumerable.

Therefore, he removed himself from their sight and snuck away. The ocean had never been a place he’d yearned to be near. He had some but little experience travelling upon it. He certainly did not care for sailors or pirates especially. Quynh who’d been its captive for so many centuries, seemed eternally one with it. But for lack of anywhere else to run, Agron made his way to the shore and gathered driftwood and grasses for tinder to make his fire.

The flames were a comfort where the water was not. The hearth he knew, gathering around a blaze with kin was familiar. In this instance he wanted to be alone, as much as his heart ached for want of Nasir at his side. If they went in search of him, he thought surely they’d see the flames in the distance. Once the fire had taken hold, Agron sat himself down on an old tree trunk and breathed in and exhaled slowly. In vain he fought his own mind to push aside negative thoughts about those gone forever and the absence of the life he had built for himself in the wake of all his loss. He tried to focus on the knowledge that despite what had been taken from him, Nasir had not. He wanted to turn and run back to the villa and take the man in his arms and love him with all his might, but he could not make himself move. Instead, he remained seated and let time pass over him, as it seemed it was intent on doing for thousands of years to come.

The wind had picked up and Agron closed his eyes, letting the cool breeze roll off the ocean and over him, the flames of the fire swirling ever higher with the logs cracking and breaking, sending up sparks. With the sun set it had become cold. It did not compare to winters East of the Rhine. He asked himself if anything would ever compare to the peace and contentment he’d felt in days inside their small home at the base of the mountain, snowed in thick and deep where the world outside ceased to exit. Their only trips outside were to walk around into the barn attached to the other side of their home. The goats enjoyed the heat of the hearth too, open from both sides. It was a genius suggestion from Nasir. They gave them fresh water, cleaned out their muck and fed them. He and Nasir had lost trace of day and night, the passage of the weeks, and all save countless hours in bed – sleeping and fucking winter’s touch away from their door. It has been a world of only two people and it had been his bliss. It was lost to them now.

He felt his husband’s presence before his touch or the sound of his voice. Familiar hands settled upon his shoulders, then into his hair to tip his head back. Agron’s eyes remained closed and he revelled in the feel of Nasir’s fingers running through the length and into his beard. “You are still as a lion. Unkempt beast that you are,” Nasir laughed, pressing a kiss to Agron’s forehead. “We must find a way to remedy this or people will think you a wild-man from the woods. Nothing but an animal.”

“A beast that has been tamed,” Agron mused back. Nasir chuckled warmly and let him go, moving around to straddle Agron’s lap and seat himself upon it. Big hands came about his waist and held him firm. In the light of the fire Nasir’s looked like Apollo, God of the Sun with skin glowing and hair black as midnight. “By the gods you are a vision.”

“You flatter.”

“I speak only truth. Eyes have never settled upon a greater beauty.” Nasir fingers toyed with his beard and silence settled between them. With a sigh and searching gaze, Agron took hold of the shirt Nasir wore and peeled it from his body, setting it aside before pressing his face into his love’s naked chest. His arms splayed out across his back and Agron breathed in deeply. Even over the salt of the ocean and smoke of the fire, Nasir’s body filled his nostrils and it calmed him more than the lull of the crashing waves. Nasir wrapped his arms around Agron and cradled him close, kissing into his hair.

“Even now, you are troubled?” Nasir asked, tightening his hold. Agron said nothing, but held fast, letting out one ragged breath after another. “My love?”

And released him and looked up into the perilous dark eyes of his mate. “I am settled, resigned, but I mourn. To mind Duro, Spartacus, and all have been gone but half a decade, but in truth their bones have turned to dust. I will be well in time, but not now. I cannot reconcile all as of yet. I am not right in heart or mind, not this night, and not tomorrow. But, I have sense. I must tarry in all things, mustn’t I? I must take rest, eat, sleep, be with you. I must cast off fears of capture and enslavement, I must trust our new brothers, I must learn new tongue. I know what I must do, but cannot will myself to submit.”

“Your words are understood, my Agron. Know they are. I share all burdens and fears as you, but I have faith.”

“The gods but play with us, Nasir. What faith are they owed now?”

Nasir shook his head, even as Agron tangled his fingers in the loose strands of Nasir’s hair. “Not in the gods, you fool. In you. All faith, strength and comfort come from you. So long as you are by my side, I have no fear.” Nasir kissed him, a merely brush of their lips before drawing in breath to speak again. “I am of a mind.”

“Is that so? Speak it then.”

“You hold tenuous grasp on self. You hold too tight to control, fearful it shall yet again be torn from grasp. I would have you surrender instead.”

“Surrender?”

“Surrender, to me. I know it is not our usual preference, but tonight I would have you take me inside you as we have done in the past. I would have you abandon all to me, let me care for you as you do me upon countless nights. Be drunk on pleasure I know can be wrought from within you. Give yourself to me in totality. Be not Agron, but only mine to guide, mine to pleasure. Confess, you do enjoy being take roughly from behind do you not? Spread out upon bed, teeth sunk into pillow to quiet cries of ecstasy. Cock stretching you, claiming you. You crave to relinquish control to me, safe in knowledge that I will care and love you. Is this not so?”

Aroused and shaking with newly awakened desire, Agron could only nod in response to Nasir’s words. With trembling hands holding to Nasir’s hips, Agron looked up at him with tears forming in his eyes, silently pleading for Nasir to make good on his promise. “You call me a beauty,” Nasir continued, peppering kisses across Agron’s cheeks, nose and forehead, “But never has there been a finer specimen of a man from any land. Tall and thick as tree, immovable as mountain. A fine, straight nose and eyes the colour of the forest. Cock so large as to rival any stallion.” Agron laughed, his tears tracking down his cheeks. “I claimed you has husband and vowed to protect your heart and I would see to task.”

“Nasir…” Agron choked on his words, emotions swelling in his chest. “I am yours, I surrender.”

When Agron awoke the next morning he was cotton-brained and lethargic. While he could appreciate that he felt no pain in his muscles or arse, part of him was disappointed that all evidence of being taken so thoroughly the night before by husband had vanished. There were no bruises, bite marks or the dull ache he was used to. He was however, sated and content. He felt his cock swell at the memory of Nasir’s loving but overly enthusiastic attentions upon him the night before. He had given Agron no quarter. He’d been pushed, pulled, ravaged and shown no mercy nor rest. He recalled begging at one point, that his body could not possibly reach yet another in an endless flow of peaks, but Nasir had wrought not one, but three more from him before he’d been allowed to calm. Agron had been a sobbing, boneless mess with tears drenching his face as their bodies had been in sweat and seed. The evidence of that at least lingered on him. He felt utterly filthy and debauched, and had not been this content since before their slumber beneath the ice.

“Were husband’s attentions not thorough enough,” came Nasir’s voice in his ear, moments before Agron made an indignant sound as Nasir’s hand closed around his cock and stretched his body along the length of his back.

“Well thorough, rest assured,” Agron gasped and Nasir’s stroked him.

“Perhaps it is as Nicky told me, that we will have love unending, our bodies so quick to recover that we will never find satisfaction?”

“I am well satisfied, but memory of hours ago roused cock again.”

“Hmm… then see memory made flesh once again before we take our daily ablutions.”

“Daily?”

“So I am told, it is the custom, one I welcome. My mountain lion of a husband must adapt. I shall enjoy you not smelling of goat manure.”

“He says as he has me in hand! You welcomed me to bed even when I smelled of the barn. Nasir…” With a few deft strokes and the twist of his wrist, Nasir had Agron emptying into his palm. He was greeted then by a soft, languid kiss before nudged from the bed towards the bath. For the first time in their lives, Agron felt that perhaps one could leave woes and toil behind them. Perhaps Melita would be the place of solace Joe and Nicky promised it would be.

An hour later they found their hosts sitting quietly together in the courtyard feeding each other slices of grapefruit, with plates of bread, cheese and olives set out along with a tall pitcher of cool water, condensation running down the length of it.

“ _Good morrow brothers,”_ Agron’s voice boomed, earning an immediate grin from Joe, who plucked an olive from the dish and popped it in his mouth.

“ _I would ask if you slept well last night, but I think we can guess that you did_ , _afterwards of course_ ” Joe teased.

“ _Apologies if our voices carried…”_ Nasir began, but Nicky waved him off and gestured for them to sit at the table.

“ _Do not be concerned. We are happy you have enjoyed yourselves in our home. It is your home now too,”_ Nicky explained, pushing the plates of food their way. “ _Sex, you will learn, is one of many loves you will come to feel for each other as the years fall behind you_. _My Joe and I have scarcely gone one night without it in all our centuries together. Immortality does have many advantages in this respect. You should always be free with your affections with the other. There is no need for embarrassment or censorship.”_

_“Gratitude. I know we shall learn much from you both.”_

_“I should like to know when we begin with learning common tongue,”_ Agron ventured.

“ _Presently!”_ Nicky grinned. “ _To say good morrow, you must say_ good morning.”

“Good morning, _my brothers.”_

 _“The common tongue, called_ English _, evolved from the land of the Celts and spread throughout the world over the course centuries until today. There is of course much history, and something nefarious called colonialism. We can begin as we walk to the village for food and wine, and a few more articles of clothing for each of you. The clothes you have donned will suffice for the today. Winters in Malta are middling. We will not see snow, but it is too cold for light clothing and sandals. That being said, I should like buy you a pair of Birkenstocks…”_

Joe rolled his eyes. “Nicolò, you and your Birkenstocks!” Joe laughed.

“ _They are comfortable sandals, durable, and made by the people of Agron homeland!”_

Joe leaned in and kissed him sweetly, “My darling fool, I do love you.”

The walk to the village was to take an hour and Joe pulled a cart along behind him over the rough terrain of the dirt and gravel road. It appeared to Agron and Nasir both, that the house was situated far away from civilization, which suited all. The sky was cast in gray with hints of blue appearing though the cloud cover. Despite the sun not being high in the sky, it was still bright. The road was lined with laurels and pines, with the sight of olive groves in the distance. There were other houses, set back on their farms, but they passed no one else as they walked and the two couples enjoyed a companionable journey.

At one point, Nasir had taken Agron’s hand in his, and Nicky had done with same with Joe. Nicky and Joe took turns recounting tales of the world’s history, including more detail about how Caesar came to his end, and of a woman called Cleopatra. They also spoke of how the name of Spartacus became legend and how the tale of his rebellion spread across the world and survived until present times.

Upon turning at a bend in the road, they stopped short at the sight of a shepherd herding his goats across from one field to another. The wistful longing in Nasir’s eyes earned him a soft kiss to his temple from Agron. It became ever apparent as they continued their walk that the world they had left behind and its quiet country lives, were not so far away and forgotten. Joe assured them it was the same in Germania. There were still untouched lands where villages remained little changed over the course of time. There was every promise that if they so chose, they could live a quiet life in solitude.

They crested the hill and beheld what to Agron and Nasir appeared to their eyes almost a city and no mere village. Everything appeared as the palor of sand, with brightly coloured roofs and greenery throughout. They walked the remainder of the distance until they came to the archway at the village’s gate.

“ _It is market day, we are in luck. It is situated near the sea,”_ Nicky spoke. “ _We will buy everything we will need for seven days at least. If you are willing to separate, Agron, you and Joe may purchase the wine as well as shoes and more clothing for you and Nasir, and to a place called a_ pharmacy _to acquire more of what I am sure you used a considerable amount of last night.”_ Nicky winked at him and Agron blustered. “ _Nasir and I will see to the food.”_

 _“Nasir, what are your wishes?”_ Agron asked of him.

“ _My love, I see the worry in your eyes, but I am confident. You and I may separate for a time, the promise of reunion will be sweet.”_

_“Very well, though all thoughts shall be of your return to my arms.”_

_“Wait a hundred years,”_ Joe spoke. “ _Separating for an hour will seem like an eternity. It will never get easier, but I assure you, seeing the one who holds your heart across a distance and rushing into their arms again will be a gift unmatched. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”_

Nicky could not help rolls his eyes at Joe’s poetic flourish. His husband truly was an incurable romantic. “ _We shall meet at the village square near the fountain in two hours,”_ Nicky spoke, relieving Joe of the cart by its handle with a kiss that lingered until both men were smiling into it. Nasir looked upon them fondly before Agron took him by the chin, tilted his head back and pressed their lips together. “ _Come, Nasir, we are to market. We will bring food for the midday meal.”_

 _“The focaccia from Martelli’s?”_ Joe asked with hopeful enthusiasm.

“ _Of course! Who do you think you are married to?”_

Joe winked at him before catching Agron’s eye and inclining his head in the opposite direction. Agron and Nasir’s gaze lingered on each other until they could finally tear themselves away. Agron breathed in a full breath and let it out slowly.

“ _They will be safe, I promise,”_ Joe assured him as they descended down an alleyway and around a corner into a wide open street bustling with people. “ _It is the_ dies Saturni _, when most people do their shopping for the week ahead. It’s good, we will find most shops open. We have much to acquire.”_

 _“You have coin a plenty?”_ Agron asked.

“ _This is a prime opportunity to educate you on the advancement in the trade of money for goods. You will be pleased to know that coin does indeed exist still, but there are other methods to exchange money for goods and services. We will get the shoes and clothing first, for the wine will be heavy to carry.”_

_“I once carried an entire stag for seven miles on my back. A few bottles of wine will not bother me.”_

Joe laughed heartily. “ _I have no doubt!”_

They walked on, Agron’s eyes darting around like a surprised child as he observed the many varied faces of the people. He took in their visages, their clothing, their adornments while at the same time looking through the windows of the shops, marvelling at the endless bounty surrounding them. All the while he listened to Joe describe the evolution of the modern money system, pausing him to ask questions when he didn’t understand. The concept of money being exchanged through the ether with the tap of a small rectangular placard against a small lit box sounded like magic to his mind, but he accepted it nonetheless. He imagined he would have to accept a lot on face value in the weeks and years ahead. He had after all been hurtled across the continent in a flying metal tube and cut a journey of many months into mere hours. There was much he was willing to accept.

It was a glint of the sun off a piece of silver that caught his eye and unbidden, Agron broke from Joe and turned to stand before a window beyond which housed numerous rings, pendants, bracelets, and other baubles, all in polished silver and bejewelled, glittering in the sun that had broken through the clouds. He worried his bottom lip and sighed.

“ _See something you like?”_ Joe asked. “ _If there is something you want…”_

Agron shook his head. “ _No. It is mere memory, of time long passed. We were wed, Nasir and I, a handfasting before the whole of the village. The elder women attempted to adorn Nasir as a bride but he would have none of it. It vexed him, but I was greatly amused. The smithy crafted simple cuffs for us to wear about our wrists. They were tokens of our vows. It took nearly two turns around the sun for us to be able to buy enough silver. The village’s mage divined binding runes for us, and they were carved into the cuffs. They were most sacred to us. Most sacred. Kozak_ _took them from us and now they are lost.”_

_“I’m sorry, there wasn’t time. We didn’t know.”_

_“They took everything from us.”_ Agron worked his jaw in an attempted to reign in both his sorrow and his frustration. His wrist felt wrong without his wedding gift, more naked than if he stood without clothing or his head shorn.

_“But not your lives, not each other. We will find you something new, for your new beginning. I understand their importance.”_

_“As few do, brother. There is nothing here that could replace what was lost. There is no need. As you have said, I have my Nasir, I need nothing else.”_

_“If you could put pen to paper to draw their likeness, I’ll see new ones made for you.”_

Agron contemplated the notion and merely smiled and shook his head. “ _Best to ask Nasir. I am useless in anything but battle and labour.”_

_“I doubt that very much. You stood as general to Spartacus. I doubt he took you for a beast fit only for the fields. You have the soul of a poet. At least when it comes to Nasir.”_

_“He is my all. He is my only. Were I here without him, I would be lost and broken. I_ cannot _be without him. There is no Agron if there is no Nasir.”_

_“As there is no Yusuf without Nicolò. Another time then. My husband has set us many tasks. I would not wish to disappoint him. My love possesses a flame of infinite good in him, but he has a wrath if things do not go to plan. I would not have my bed cold tonight.”_

Agron laughed and clapped Joe on the shoulder. “ _Let us set ourselves to task and see all done! Lead on!”_

For a flash of a moment, Nasir was hurtled back two thousand years to the markets of Capua where he had accompanied his Dominus’ sister to market along with her own house slaves that had come with her from her own villa. They were to stay for the winter, and Nasir had been given the laudable task of being her guide in the city. He had accompanied his master on several occasions, but never to the food market. His sister had been reserved but kind and she’d wanted to see life below her station, and for her that meant a trip to see where the common folk mingled and sold their wares. She thought it charming.

The village market near the sea stretched nearly as far as Nasir could see and the crowds of people were swollen to the point there was scarcely room to maneuver. Nicky took it all in stride however. He spoke to vendors in what appeared to Nasir’s ear as the common tongue, English, as he approached the vendors to purchase their wares.

“ _Does Agron favour any particular food? Do you? I believe we shall be able to find most things here. Do not let me forget to get us eggs. I always forget eggs!”_ Nicky spoke as he loaded bags of vegetables Nasir did not entirely recognize into their cart and paid the man by flashing a small placard at him.

“ _We ate the fare of Agron’s people - tubers, roots, herbs, apples, berries, cheeses, meats, oats and wheat. It is an admittedly unvaried diet, but it is wholesome. When I was in my Dominus’ house we had other fare, sometimes I miss the taste of cumin and cinnamon_ ,” Nasir replied.

“ _Then you shall have it now. I’ll make us a lamb curry tonight, I think_ ,” Nicky mused. “ _We will find the spice vendor, and acquire everything you’ve just mentioned. I shall introduce you to a few dishes from my homeland and from Joe’s. You will like everything, I promise._ ”

Nasir paused at one stand and smiled, drawing Nicky’s attention. “ _Grapes! Agron would be delighted to have them. The red ones! Spartacus once told me a tale of how one day in particular, Agron had fought exceptionally well in the arena and eclipsed all others of the House of Batiatus, even Spartacus himself. He had been as a lion and endured four rounds before his time had ended. He had taken down over twenty men. Batiatus has been so pleased and impressed, and feeling generous against his nature that he had brought in women for the men to enjoy as a reward, not realizing that women held no interest for Agron. Doctore had found him alone and bored on the sands of the ludus while everyone else was inside enjoying their debauchery. Taking pity, Doctore had explained to the Domina that Agron was similar to a gladiator called Barca and had no want of a woman and to get him a boy next time. As placation, he was given a meal from the house – roast fowl, breads, and grapes. Agron still remembers the grapes_.”

Nicky smiled thoughtfully at the story and picked up four bunches of the largest, firmest red grapes the woman at the stall had to offer. Agron would be able to eat himself sick with them. Nasir was exceedingly pleased at the prospect.

As they carried on, Nicky spoke again. “ _He does not fare well, your love, when he is far from your side? I could not help but notice the panic in his eyes. Your words assuaged him but even after he could no longer see us, I saw how he still looked back for you_.”

“ _We have had few peaceful days since meeting. It was not until settled in Agron’s homeland that we slept until dawn without waking from nightmares. He left me, once, on a mad campaign to take Rome. Spartacus was not in agreement. Our legions split and Agron followed another of our brothers, to ruin. He commanded me to go another path. I knew it was to set me free, but it was as if he had torn heart chest. It was the same, I know, for him. I should never have listened, but I let him go. The Romans were victorious, and Agron was crucified. Were it not for Spartacus mounting rescue…” Nasir let out a ragged breath. “He was returned to me a broken man, suffering in mind as dire as body. But he was returned to me and I breathed again. He made vow that we should never spend even one day apart and we have kept hold to vow. When in Kozak’s hold, to wake alone without him at side…”_

Nicky lay his hand to Nasir’s shoulder. “ _I understand. I have been in a similar situation_.”

“ _For all his strength, courage and conviction, my beloved desires but two things in life – peace, and to be always by my side_.”

“ _Would that it always be so. Joe and I will do our best to ensure you have this. Andromache and the others will see that all threats are extinguished_.”

“ _We are in your debt. I know not how we will ever make recompense_.”

“ _There is no debt with family, Nasir. You are our brothers, as we will still be as the centuries pass us by. Now, we have been far too maudlin. We should indulge! Have you ever tasted chocolate?_ ”

Nasir shook his head. “ _What is chocolate?_ ”

Nicky grinned.

When their cart was nearly full to overflowing, Nasir and Nicky made their way to the centre of the village to meet their husbands. While the market had been exciting, it was nice to find themselves among people who were not in a rush to be anywhere and were instead enjoying a leisurely afternoon in the cafes and around the fountain, talking with their companions or some quietly reading books or on their phones. As promised, Nicky and Nasir had visited Joe’s favourite bakery, which had passed from grandfather to son to grandson, along with their treasured recipes. Nicky and Joe had been frequenting the bakery since the day it had opened. Among the many and varied loaves of bread Nicky had purchased an entire tray of pastries as well as the focaccia Joe had requested. Upon tasting a brownie for the first time, Nasir had insisted they buy a slab for Agron. They’d all be rolling on the floor, stuffed to the gill’s by day’s end.

It was not hard to spot Agron in the crowd. Joe sat comfortably on the edge of the fountain, watching the people and relaxing while keeping a watchful eye on their many purchases. Agron on the other hand stood a head taller than everyone else in the square. People were watching him, marvelling at the site of so fit, broad, and exceedingly handsome a man. Nasir stopped short half way to him. He had changed. His hair had been cut and was no longer as a shaggy lion’s man. It was now clean and as when they had last been upon the battlefield. Further to that, his beard, once full and thick had been trimmed close to his face. He looked like a new man and Nasir marvelled at him.

“ _He looks very handsome_ ,” Nicky spoke softly. “ _We could have your hair cut too if you wish_.”

Nasir shook his head. “ _I would not be forgiven. He has begged and bargained with me that I should never. He would be devastated. My vanity agrees._ ”

Nicky gave him a nudge and Nasir broke from him, moving swiftly towards his husband. Upon catching sight of him, Agron’s face split into a wide grin and he took two long, purposeful strides towards Nasir, wrapping his arms around his waist and taking him clean off his feet as he captured his lips for an enthusiastic and passionate kiss. More head turned their way as the continued to kiss in front of everyone, arms wrapped tightly around each other.

Caught up in each other, the lovers were oblivious as Nicky took his seat next to Joe and kissed him warmly in greeting. “It is good to see them happy,” Joe spoke, leaning into his husband.

“It is, my love,” Nicky responded. “I think they will be happy here, until they have learned to stand on their own. They have each other, and much like us, my Yusuf, being with the love of your life is all and more.”

“And you say I am the incurable romantic.”

“Mmm, indeed.” Nicky tilted his head and met Joe’s eyes. They shared a smile and another kiss before resting against each other and enjoying the moment. It had been a harrowing time in their lives, as fate was want to upheave them with, but in the end, they had gained two brothers.

Agron finally set Nasir on his feet again. In past times, he’d have been disgruntled from being separated from this earth, his small stature always the thorn on the rose, but Nasir could find no ire at the sight of his beloved’s jubilance.

“ _Never have I seen you more handsome than this moment_ ,” Nasir spoke, framing Agron’s face with his hands and smiling up at him. “ _Not because of hair or beard, but I see smile has finally returned and that it is from heart. We will be joyful in this life._ ”

“ _You, Nasir, are my joy_.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Several months later…_  
  


“Agron? Coffee,” Nasir mumbled into his pillow, giving his husband’s backside a nudge with his knee.

“Yes, get me coffee,” Agron mumbled in return, reaching back to aimlessly pat at Nasir’s face.

“No, get _me_ coffee.”

“Hrmph.”

“My love…”

“Perhaps if we remain a bed, coffee will come to us. Am I at fault you are insatiable and cock-hungry, keeping us from slumber until break of dawn?”

“Your cock has no complaint about my appetites. It is the sea air that affects me so, and generously endowed husband who desires me always.”

“I suppose you are of thought that flattery will get you coffee?”

“Generously endowed husband who desires me always, _and_ is devoted to length that I weep with humble gratitude to the gods each day that am his.”

Agron sighed and stretched out his body as he yawned before reluctantly casting off the duvet and sitting himself up, planting his feet on the cool tiles of their bedroom floor. He paused and waited to gain the motivation to rise. He felt Nasir’s hand rubbing his back.

“Gratitude, my husband, my all, my life’s blood…”

“I am already up, do not push fortune.” As Agron rose, Nasir reached out and gave his bare arse a good solid smack, making Agron jump and look back at Nasir’s too delighted grin with scorn.

“I love you, husband.”

Agron narrowed his eyes at the adorable man in the bed and felt himself fall in love with him all over again. He looked up at him adoringly with loving eyes, raven hair loose and wild over their pillows, and skin darker and ever more enticing from days spent in t sun. In the six months or so they’d been in Malta, much had changed for them. Agron ruminated on the fact as he descended the stairs to fetch their much loved morning coffees. He and Nasir were avid students to all Joe and Nicky sought to teach them. There were days where Agron would have none of it and preferred to put on the shoes they’d got him for running and push his body to the limits for miles and miles along the shore. Nasir had become even more fierce a fighter under Joe’s tutelage in a style called Krav Maga. Watching the two of them spar was an awakening and awesome sight to behold. Joe and Nicky each had one thousand years to perfect their combat skills, so Agron knew it was high praise indeed when Joe complimented Nasir on his developing skills.

They learned history, politics and language. The cooked, relaxed and explored the island. They fucked and trained, and every day felt like a blessing. This day was mean to be spent at leisure. The previous one had been occupied in combat with swords, Joe and Nicky both once again learning that despite their one thousand years of experience, they were not quite a match for a former gladiator with a sword in hand and something to prove. Though they were battle worn warriors, they had never been gladiators and did not possess Agron’s determination or ability to cage his gentle nature entirely only to release it upon call to become the Beast from East of the Rhine. They had seen the beast when they’d freed him from Kozak. Without it Agron would have died on the sands of the arena. The man still refused to touch a gun, but put a sword in his hand and he was nearly invincible. Nasir had watched on with a pride before again showing his own worth with a spear.

Joe remarked in passing that it seemed always that it was warriors who were chosen by the powers that be to become immortal. Nicky philosophised as to the reasoning, believing that only their hands could wield such advantage honestly in service of good – of taking innocents from suffering and setting them free. The notion appealed to Agron on a deep level. Out of all of their immortal brothers and sisters, he and Nasir were the only ones to have lived as slaves. He put thoughts of action in this modern world aside. Now was not the time for them to return to battle.

Agron yawned wide and loud as he descended the stairs, stretching his back and cracking his spine. Thought he healed from any strain or injury, his back still felt the after effects of all of his and Nasir’s activities after dark. He wondered absently if the two of them were perverse given how often they came together. Their lust was seemingly insatiable. In fact, Agron had it in mind to bring Nasir his longed for coffee and then not let him leave the bed for the entire day.

Feeling light on his feet, he walked into the kitchen and with a few practiced flips of the switch on the coffee machine, the beans began to grind and the water to boil as he fetched two cups from the cupboard. There were a few vices they had adopted upon settling in to the modern era, and coffee was chief among them. Nasir turned into a bear if he didn’t get his cup upon waking, something Agron teased him about endlessly. The kiss he received in exchange for the cup was however more than worth Nasir’s grousing.

He opened the fridge and nearly dropped the bottle of milk when he realized he was not alone. He turned and felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment.

“ _I have not paid Nasir his due,”_ Andy spoke in Agron’s old Germanic, eyeing his naked body from head to toe from her vantage point sat at the kitchen table. She sat eating an apple with a knife. “ _He is a champion in his own right, for taking that cock of yours. I’ve known horses who would find themselves put to shame at the sight of you.”_

Agron moved the bottle of milk to obscure himself as he met her eyes and bristled. “ _Sister Nile would have words for you at this disrespect,”_ Agron countered. “ _What did she name it in the common tongue?_ Sexual harassment!”

_“Are you bothered by my gaze, gladiator?”_

Accepting her challenge, he placed the milk bottle on the counter and continued to make their coffees. “ _I am not!”_ he laughed. “ _Gaze until you have mapped every facet of my form, for it is one no woman shall ever claim with but her eyes. My cock stands for none but my beloved husband. Have you come alone?”_

_“No, we are all here. Our family is reunited.”_

_“You have seen to task?”_

_“In part. Suspicions grow, we must go to ground for a short time. We await you for the morning meal though it is nearly midday. If you and Nasir can cease fucking each other beyond sense.”_

_“I am in doubt, Andromache. My husband is too beautiful to resist, but he is a fell beast before his_ coffee _, so I must attend him.”_

Andy rose and passed him, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she did. “Nice ass too, by the way!” she called back over her shoulder, this time in English.

“And a well fucked one it is!” he hollered back at her in the same tongue. Andy grinned as she left him in peace. Nicky had mentioned they were making excellent progress on their language lessons.

Agron all but bounded upstairs, careful not to spill any of the hot coffee from the mugs, excited that the others had returned and to inform Nasir of it. He found his beloved as he had left him, lounging in their bed with hair unkempt and skin tasting of salt from the sweat of the night before. Agron’s eyes glazed over at the memory. They had been mad for each other for hours, taking turns having each other in every conceivable position. To think he had millennia to love his little man.

“What brings so beguiling a smile to husband’s face?” Nasir asked, accepting first his cup of coffee, then a kiss off Agron in exchange. He sat himself down and drank as Nasir savoured his cup.

“Andromache has returned,” Agron shared with a grin. “With our sisters, and the _fucking Gaul_.”

“You are needlessly harsh with Booker since discovery he hails from Gallia. From _France_. Though Nicky has assured me we are permitted to dislike the French on principle.”

“Booker knows I jest. Someone must stand in place of Crixus as the focus of my occasional ire. He suits purpose well enough. I would be bereft if there were no one to call me a _simple fuck from East of the Rhine._ ”

“They await us?”

“Mmm… I would assume so, but I warned the woman that you were a snarling beast of drool and fangs before coffee has passed your lips.”

“Hold tongue lest you suffer absence of me in our bed for such a slight.”

Agron chuckled warmly and placed his hand on Nasir’s thigh atop the sheet that covered him. “You would not last an hour absent my presence.”

Nasir sighed, giving up before the good natured quarrel could even begin. “You speak truth, I concede.”

“My heart, I would not last a moment without you.” The sincerity and fondness in Agron’s eyes mollified Nasir instantly and he set aside his cup to kiss his husband. Agron met him with a smile and an inclination of his head. The kiss was sweet and lasted only a moment before Agron too set his cup aside. “Would that I could keep you a bed until night falls, but alas, our brothers and sisters _do_ await us.”

Nasir crowded in close and hugged his arms around his beloved, tucking his head under his chin and held himself tight against his chest. Agron pulled him even more near and tightened his grip. “The night will always be our time, will it not? I saw you first under moonlight, my fearsome gladiator. You were full of fury and grief.”

“I came alive upon our eyes meeting, before then I was but a walking shadow. The gods saw fit to restore breath to a dead man that night.”

“Two dead men, for I was prisoner in mind as much as body.”

They kissed again and basked in their tender moment before reluctantly rising to prepare for the day.

Freshly showered and dressed, they emerged from their home to find an unexpected feast awaiting them. They had been so deep in slumber for most of the morning that they’d not let their ears wander beyond the confines of the house. Booker lay reclined in one of the chaise lounges drinking a mimosa as Quynh wandered up to them to offer them each a glass.

“To what is owed celebration?” Agron asked, looking over the table full of fruits, breads, meats, cheeses and other delights.

“For you, dear brothers,” Quynh replied, handing them each their glass in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. “When the sun sets it will be the Night of Hexennacht. That is when you were wed, was it not?”

“You speak truth,” Nasir answered, a certain light coming to his eyes upon remembrance of the date. “We had not thought to mark the day, one is much like the next.”

“Not for Nicky,” Joe laughed, putting his arm around Nicky’s shoulders as they took their seats at the table. “He remembers everything.”

“I merely thought it would be nice to celebrate something,” Nicky countered. “And to keep everyone’s return a surprise for the occasion.”

Agron bowed his head. “Gratitude, brother Nicolò. You honour us.”

“Plus it’s a good excuse for a party,” added Nile, approaching them with arms open, to which Agron eagerly welcomed her into his embrace. “Lookin’ good, big guy, and your English is coming along pretty great there.”

“With much diligence and patience from our teachers.”

“How’s the world lookin’ to you?”

Drawing Nile and Nasir both close, his kissed each of them upon their temples. “I hate facism and Nazis. I wish to do violence upon them. They deserve sword in gut as sure as any Roman shit would. Show me but one and he will find my fist to his face in glorious wrath. They are a scourge upon the earth I would see them burned asunder. I also beg humble forgiveness, sister Nile, I shall not be able to join you in the _Beyhive_.”

The look of disappointment on Nile face wounded him but she hugged him regardless. “You’re forgiven. I’ll gladly trade you not getting into Beyonce for punching Nazis.”

“I was more inclined to beheading…”

Nasir took him by the chin and turned his face to his for a kiss. “Leave our sister be, I am famished,” Nasir spoke before pushing him out of the way and taking Nile by the hand and escorting her towards the table.

Booker rose from his rest and passed by Agron, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed him by. “I won’t tell Nile if you behead them, you thick-skulled boar. C’mon, I’m starving.”

Agron grinned and followed, taking his seat next to Nasir, across from Nicky and Joe. Andy sat to his right at the head of the table and something in her eyes made him feel incredibly fond towards her. Food was passed around and their plates filled. They ate and laughed and talked amongst themselves, as real a family as any of them had ever known. It was during this time of distraction and Andy surreptitiously placed a small gift box on the table and slid it to Agron’s right hand. He did a double take as he beheld the box, no bigger than his palm. Andy nodded her head, indicating he should open it.

It was Nasir, aside from Andy, who noticed that his beloved had gone eerily still and his eyes brimmed with tears. Nasir’s hand ghosted over Agron’s forearm with concern until he spied what he held in his other. From the box Agron had withdrawn two silver cuffs and held them between his fingers. Into the burnished metal was carved a series of runes that Nasir knew to heart.

“Are… are they the same? Have they been recovered?” Nasir asked, feeling himself well up at the sight.

“No,” Andy spoke. “They’re new. We had them made from Joe’s drawing.”

Nasir understood. Months ago Joe had mentioned in passing how Agron spoke of the bands of silver for their wrists had been taken from them by Kozak. Joe had suggested they commit them to paper as over the centuries their memories would fade and the runes would be something they might want to remember. At the time, as Nasir described every detail and Joe took pencil to paper, he had not fathomed that his intent, the intent of the whole family, was to have them brought back to physical form and presented to them on their anniversary.

“I have not the words, Andromache,” Agron spoke, his voice strained with emotion.

“You know,” Joe spoke from across the table, “Over the centuries, Nicky and I have made our vows to each other many times. If you are inclined, we could have a ceremony tonight. Andy could do the honours. She was once worshipped as a goddess. I’m sure she’s qualified. If not, Nicky can do it.”

“I cannot marry then in a catholic ceremony!” Nicky laughed.

“Give me a half hour and I’ll get ordained online,” Nile offered.

“Actually, come to think of it, I was technically a captain on that pirate ship,” Joe mused.

“You’re all fools,” Booker said with a roll of his eyes.

“I will do it,” Quynh spoke then, having been an observer until the moment the words left her lips. “I was committed as priestess to Âu Cơ when I came of age until the day of my first death and my journey to Andromache began. Agron is of the mountains as Âu Cơ was, and Nasir you are of a land with seas of sand, just as the husband of Âu Cơ was of the seas I know best. I will perform the ceremony, if consent is given.”

“It is! Heartily!” Agron answered before turning to Nasir seeking his affirmation. The love that shone in his love’s eyes had Agron grinning from ear to ear. He had not felt as if he’d been part of a Brotherhood since the loss of Spartacus. In this moment he knew he and his love were truly among family.

“You bring us honour, Quynh, as do you all for bestowing such gifts upon us,” Nasir replied, closing his hand over Agron’s and the silver cuffs. A new beginning, a new family and a new vow of marriage between them was more than either man had ever dared to hope for upon waking from their prison under the ice. They sought each other for a soft, fulfilling kiss and as their lips met they exhaled a long held breath of doubt, fear and uncertainty. They had thousands of years ahead of them and they would welcome them together.

The End

Part II of the In The Lap of the Gods Series, _In the Lap of the Gods: The Fall of the Wolf Slayer_ is coming soon… ish. To be followed after by _Part III, In the Lap of the Gods: The Wrath of the Gods_.


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